Characterization and identification of chemical components in traditional Chinese medicine Psoraleae Fructus based on UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS / 中国中药杂志

This study was designed to comprehensively characterize and identify the chemical components in traditional Chinese medicine Psoraleae Fructus by establishing an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) method in combination with in-house library. The chromatographic separation conditions(stationary phase, column temperature, mobile phase, and elution gradient) and key MS monitoring parameters(capillary voltage, nozzle voltage, and fragmentor) were sequentially optimized via single-factor experiments. A BEH C_(18) column(2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm) was finally adopted, with the mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid in water(A) and acetonitrile(B) at the flow rate of 0.4 mL·min~(-1) and column temperature of 30 ℃. Auto MS/MS was utilized for data acquisition in both positive and negative ion modes. By comparison with reference compounds, analysis of the MS~2 fragments, in-house library retrieval and literature research, 83 compounds were identified or tentatively characterized from Psoraleae Fructus, including 58 flavonoids, 11 coumarins, 4 terpenoid phenols, and 10 others. Sixteen of them were identified by comparison with reference compounds, and ten compounds may have not been reported from Psoraleae Fructus. This study achieved a rapid qualitative analysis on the chemical components in Psoraleae Fructus, which provided useful reference for elucidating its material basis and promoting the quality control.

Induction of long-term potentiation at Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses in mice hippocampus after IMPX977 administration / 中草药·英文版

Objective: To investigate the effects of IMPX977 on long term potentiation (LTP) at Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses in vitro and on methyl CpG binding protein 2 (Mecp2) expression in mice cortex and hippocampus. Methods: Thirty-two C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into four groups: control, olive oil (vehicle), IMPX977 low (5 mg/kg) and high (15 mg/kg) groups. Mice were administrated every other day orally for two weeks. Extracellular recording technique in vitro was used to record the effects of IMPX977 on Schaffer collateral-CA1 LTP pathway in acute mice hippocampal slices. The Mecp2 protein expression level was detected by Western blotting. Results: Compared to the control group, vehicle did not alter the synaptic transmission in Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses, however, IMPX977 at concentrations of 5 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg significantly enhanced fEPSP (field excitatory postsynaptic potential) slope in Schaffer collateral-CA1 pathway to (179.6 ± 17.8)% and (191.4 ± 21.4)%, individually 60 min after HFS, IMPX977 improved LTP induction significantly at Schaffer collateral-CA1 pathway at least. Also, IMPX977 significantly elevated MeCP2 protein level in cortex. Conclusion: The effects of IMPX977 on synaptic transmission and Mecp2 protein expression provided convincing evidence that IMPX977 could be promising new drug candidates for Rett syndrome treatment.

Delivery room resuscitation and short-term outcomes of extremely preterm and extremely low birth weight infants: a multicenter survey in North China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Delivery room resuscitation assists preterm infants, especially extremely preterm infants (EPI) and extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWI), in breathing support, while it potentially exerts a negative impact on the lungs and outcomes of preterm infants. This study aimed to assess delivery room resuscitation and discharge outcomes of EPI and ELBWI in China.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of EPI (gestational age [GA] <28 weeks) and ELBWI (birth weight [BW] <1000 g), admitted within 72 h of birth in 33 neonatal intensive care units from five provinces and cities in North China between 2017 and 2018, were analyzed. The primary outcomes were delivery room resuscitation and risk factors for delivery room intubation (DRI). The secondary outcomes were survival rates, incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and risk factors for BPD.@*RESULTS@#A cohort of 952 preterm infants were enrolled. The incidence of DRI, chest compressions, and administration of epinephrine was 55.9% (532/952), 12.5% (119/952), and 7.0% (67/952), respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that the risk factors for DRI were GA <28 weeks (odds ratio [OR], 3.147; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.082-4.755), BW <1000 g (OR, 2.240; 95% CI, 1.606-3.125), and antepartum infection (OR, 1.429; 95% CI, 1.044-1.956). The survival rate was 65.9% (627/952) and was dependent on GA. The rate of BPD was 29.3% (181/627). Multivariate analysis showed that the risk factors for BPD were male (OR, 1.603; 95% CI, 1.061-2.424), DRI (OR, 2.094; 95% CI, 1.328-3.303), respiratory distress syndrome exposed to ≥2 doses of pulmonary surfactants (PS; OR, 2.700; 95% CI, 1.679-4.343), and mechanical ventilation ≥7 days (OR, 4.358; 95% CI, 2.777-6.837). However, a larger BW (OR, 0.998; 95% CI, 0.996-0.999), antenatal steroid (OR, 0.577; 95% CI, 0.379-0.880), and PS use in the delivery room (OR, 0.273; 95% CI, 0.160-0.467) were preventive factors for BPD (all P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Improving delivery room resuscitation and management of respiratory complications are imperative during early management of the health of EPI and ELBWI.

Automatic extraction of imaging observation and assessment categories from breast magnetic resonance imaging reports with natural language processing / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Background@#Structured reports are not widely used and thus most reports exist in the form of free text. The process of data extraction by experts is time-consuming and error-prone, whereas data extraction by natural language processing (NLP) is a potential solution that could improve diagnosis efficiency and accuracy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an NLP program that determines American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) descriptors and final assessment categories from breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports.@*Methods@#This cross-sectional study involved 2330 breast MRI reports in the electronic medical record from 2009 to 2017. We used 1635 reports for the creation of a revised BI-RADS MRI lexicon and synonyms lists as well as the iterative development of an NLP system. The remaining 695 reports that were not used for developing the system were used as an independent test set for the final evaluation of the NLP system. The recall and precision of an NLP algorithm to detect the revised BI-RADS MRI descriptors and BI-RADS categories from the free-text reports were evaluated against a standard reference of manual human review.@*Results@#There was a high level of agreement between two manual reviewers, with a κ value of 0.95. For all breast imaging reports, the NLP algorithm demonstrated a recall of 78.5% and a precision of 86.1% for correct identification of the revised BI-RADS MRI descriptors and the BI-RADS categories. NLP generated the total results in <1 s, whereas the manual reviewers averaged 3.38 and 3.23 min per report, respectively.@*Conclusions@#The NLP algorithm demonstrates high recall and precision for information extraction from free-text reports. This approach will help to narrow the gap between unstructured report text and structured data, which is needed in decision support and other applications.

Molecular Mechanism of Erzhiwan in Inhibiting Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Base on Network Pharmacology / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective: To explain the "multi-components, multi-targets, multi-pathways" mechanism of Erzhiwan in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH) based the network pharmacology. Method: Ingenuity pathway analysis(IPA) was used to construct components-targets-diseases network and PPI network, then the classified enrichment analysis of gene ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analysis (KEGG) were carried out on the main function of its gene sets, so as to discuss the mechanism of Erzhiwan in the treatment of BPH. Result: Erzhiwan has 19 components in IPA; and apigenin,luteolin,oleanolic acid and quercitrin were common components of Ligustri Lucidi Fructus and Echiptae Herba and the main component of Erzhiwan. Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M3 (CHRM3), muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M2 (CHRM2), urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (PLAUR), kinin releasing enzyme 3 (KLK3), cadherin 1 (CDH1), chemokines 3 (CCL3) and metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) were important targets for Erzhiwan to treat BPH. The target proteins in PPI network were enriched with 20 GO functions and 5 main KEGG pathways, and Docking was verified for relevant targets. Conclusion: Erzhiwan may play a role in treating BPH by activating MMP-1 and inhibiting KLK3 and CCL3 protein expressions, inducing apoptosis, inhibiting cell proliferation and intervening relevant pathways of mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase(MAPK/ERK) and nuclear factor(NF)-κB(NF-κB).

Preparation of Rhus chinensis total phenolic acid pellets by extrusion-spheronisation method / 中国中药杂志

Extrusion-spheronisation method was used to prepare Rhus chinensis total phenolic acid pellets. The formula and preparation of R. chinensis total phenolic acid pellets were optimized. The formulas( drug loading capacity,diluent,wetting agent and anti-sticking agent) were determined by the single factor test with yield,appearance and performance as the indexes. The preparation was optimized by Box-Behnken design and response surface method,with the rate of extrusion,rate of spheronization and time of spheronization as the independent variables and the overall desirability value of yield,friability and roundness as the dependent variables. The optimal formula of pellets was as follows: drug loading capacity 28. 7%,MCC-lactose 9 ∶1,silicon dioxide as anti-sticking agent,and 60% ethanol as wetting agent. The optimal preparation was determined as follows: the rate of extrusion was 43 r·min-1,the rate of spheronization was 1 800 r·min-1,and the time of spheronization was 4 min. The absolute deviation between predicted value and estimated value under the conditions was less than 5. 0%,with a high degree of model fit. The preparation parameters obtained were accurate,reliable and reproducible. Under scanning electron microscopy( SEM),R. chinensis total phenolic acid pellets were uniform in diameter,round and smooth. The optimal formulation and process are stable and feasible for preparing R. chinensis total phenolic acid pellets.

Automatic extraction of imaging observation and assessment categories from breast magnetic resonance imaging reports with natural language processing / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Structured reports are not widely used and thus most reports exist in the form of free text. The process of data extraction by experts is time-consuming and error-prone, whereas data extraction by natural language processing (NLP) is a potential solution that could improve diagnosis efficiency and accuracy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an NLP program that determines American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) descriptors and final assessment categories from breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports.@*METHODS@#This cross-sectional study involved 2330 breast MRI reports in the electronic medical record from 2009 to 2017. We used 1635 reports for the creation of a revised BI-RADS MRI lexicon and synonyms lists as well as the iterative development of an NLP system. The remaining 695 reports that were not used for developing the system were used as an independent test set for the final evaluation of the NLP system. The recall and precision of an NLP algorithm to detect the revised BI-RADS MRI descriptors and BI-RADS categories from the free-text reports were evaluated against a standard reference of manual human review.@*RESULTS@#There was a high level of agreement between two manual reviewers, with a κ value of 0.95. For all breast imaging reports, the NLP algorithm demonstrated a recall of 78.5% and a precision of 86.1% for correct identification of the revised BI-RADS MRI descriptors and the BI-RADS categories. NLP generated the total results in <1 s, whereas the manual reviewers averaged 3.38 and 3.23 min per report, respectively.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The NLP algorithm demonstrates high recall and precision for information extraction from free-text reports. This approach will help to narrow the gap between unstructured report text and structured data, which is needed in decision support and other applications.

Intestinal absorption of phenolic acids in Rhus chinensis extracts by in situ single-pass perfusion model in rats / 中国中药杂志

The intestinal absorption properties of four main effective components(gallic acid, ocinolglucoside, ethyl gallate and penta-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose) in Rhus chinensis extracts were investigated by in situ single-pass intestinal perfusion model in rats. The liquid accumulation of perfusion was corrected by gravimetry. The HPLC method was established to determine the concentration of the four effective components in the intestinal perfusion. It showed significant differences(Pethyl gallate>gallic acid>ocinolglucoside, with significant differences between them(P<0.05). In conclusion, gallic acid, orpheolglucoside, ethyl gallate and pentacyl-glucose could be absorbed in the whole intestine. Their absorption rate and permeation ability were related to the intestinal section and the perfusate concentration. These results indicated potential active transport or facilitated diffusion in the intestinal transport process of the four effective components.

Evaluating inferior vena cava wall invasion in renal cell carcinoma tumor thrombus with MRI / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the diagnostic performance of MRI for the assessment of inferior vena cava (IVC) wall invasion by IVC thrombus in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC).@*METHODS@#We retrospectively collected patients who underwent radical nephrectomy and thrombectomy for RCC between 2010 and 2018 at Peking University First Hospital. All the patients underwent imaging on a 1.5 Tesla or 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner. Fifty-six patients met the inclusion criteria. Preoperative imaging was reviewed by two radiologists blinded to details of the patient's surgical procedure and histopathology. Two radiologists measured the maximum anterior-posterior diameter and coronal diameters of the IVC and renal vein, and the craniocaudal extent of tumor thrombus, and evaluated the MRI features of IVC thrombus, including occlusion of the IVC lumen, the margin of the tumor thrombus (smooth vs. irregular), contact of the IVC thrombus and IVC wall, and altered signal of the IVC wall. Univariable and multivariable associations of clinical and radiographic features with IVC wall invasion were evaluated by Logistic regression.@*RESULTS@#Of the 56 patients [male: 43, female: 13, mean age: (55.64±0.43) years], 17 (30.36%) were detected with IVC wall invasion, and most were clear cell carcinoma. Tumor thrombus with IVC wall invasion showed an increase in length of IVC thrombus [(7.91±3.59) cm vs. (5.94±3.57) cm, P=0.049], and more features of complete occlusion of the IVC lumen (P=0.002), irregular margin of the IVC thrombs (P=0.005), contact of the IVC thrombus and IVC wall (P=0.001), and altered signal of the low-intensity vessel wall (P<0.001), with a sensitivity of 94.12% and a specificity of 79.49%.@*CONCLUSION@#The present study indicates that MRI could be a means of evaluating RCC with IVC wall invasion, and the combination of tumor thrombus length and subjective impression of IVC wall invasion achieved a high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis.

Theoretical and Clinical Research Review of Sanjiao / 中国中医药信息杂志

This article reviewed the relevant research on concept, substance, functions, and clinical application of Sanjiao during recent years. The study believed that Sanjiao is the "big viscera" integrating functions of viscus;"Sanjiao is invisible" means it couldn't be described; "Sanjiao is visible" theory has made certain achievements;Sanjiao is secondary channel for running of primordial qi; Qi transformation of lower-jiao is the foundation of blood, essence, bones and brain; The function of Sanjiao is the function of autonomic nervous system; The dysfunction of qi transformation and the disorder of qi activity of Sanjiao are generally deemed as pathogenesis of various diseases. This study also pointed out that researchers should pay more attention to physiological characteristics and functions of Sanjiao, with a purpose to help guide clinical practice.

Application and discussion of role-playing in medical immunology teaching for foreign students / 中国免疫学杂志

To study the application and effect of Role-playing in the teaching of Medical Immunology for foreign students.Role-playing method was tried using in the practical teaching of the pathway of complement activation and the related components in the"Medical Immunology" in Grade 2014(83 foreign students),and the teaching effect was analyzed and evaluated.In the study,we found that role-playing teaching method could not only help foreign students develop their initiative and comprehensively understand the difficulties of knowledge,but also cultivate their teamwork and interpersonal communication skills.At the same time,role-playing improved teaching efficiency and quality.Role-playing is a teaching method that meets the learning habits,characteristics,contents and rules of foreign students,which can improve the teaching quality and effect.

ACE2 agonist DIZE alleviates lung injury induced by limb ischemia-reperfusion in mice / 生理学报

This study was aimed to explore the effect of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) agonist diminazene aceturate (DIZE) on acute lung injury (ALI) induced by limb ischemia-reperfusion (LIR) in mice. Male 8-week-old wild-type and hACE2 transgenic ICR mice were randomly divided into 6 groups (6 in each group), including wild-type control (W), wild-type model (WL), wild-type model with DIZE administration (WLD), transgenic control (T), transgenic model (TL), and transgenic model with DIZE administration (TLD) groups. LIR model was established by 4 h reperfusion following 2 h ischemia of bilateral hindlimbs with rubber bands in mice. The WLD and TLD groups were pretreated with DIZE (15 mg/kg, i.p.) for 4 weeks before LIR. At the end of LIR, the mice were sacrificed and lung tissues were sampled. Indexes for evaluating lung injury include organ coefficient and wet/dry weight ratio (W/D), cell count and protein concentration of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), as well as morphological change and pathological score were detected. Angiotensin II (Ang II) and Ang (1-7) levels in lung tissue were determined by using ELISA commercial kits. And the protein expressions of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) and Mas receptor protein in lung tissue were detected by Western blot. The results were as follows: (1) There was obvious lung injury in both the WL and TL groups. The lung injury in the TL group was lighter than that in the WL group. DIZE could attenuate the lung injury in both the two groups. (2) The WL group showed increased Ang II and decreased Ang (1-7) levels, whereas the TL group did not exhibit any changes of these two proteins. DIZE decreased the level of Ang II in both the WL and TL groups, and increased the level of Ang (1-7) in the WL group. (3) In the WL and TL groups, AT1 and Mas receptor protein expressions were up-regulated. DIZE reversed the change of AT1 protein expression, whereas further increased Mas receptor expression in both the two groups. These results suggest that DIZE may improve the renin-angiotensin system homeostasis by regulating ACE2-Ang (1-7)-Mas axis in local lung tissue and play a protective role in LIR-induced ALI in mice.

Advances and challenges in preclinical evaluation of therapeutic drugs for treating ischemic stroke / 药学学报

Translating of scientific advances into clinical practice is a major challenge in the stroke research field in the past decades. There were many reasons involved:animal models might not accurately capture all aspects of clinical stroke in humans, the blind and randomized design principle was not closely followed, the inclusion and exclusion criteria was not previously established, sample size was inadequate, endpoint was not scientific nor blindly assessed, inadequate reporting of data and statistical flaws. To bridge the gap between experimental and clinical research, international consortia have attempted to establish standardized guidelines for study design and data report, which include optimizing animal models as well as experimental design, using innovative approaches to assess endpoint, making raw data and negative results available, establishing prior registration mechanism, conducting multicenter preclinical randomized controlled trials (pRCTs), systematic reviews and meta-analysis of preclinical studies, evolving the original focus on neuroprotection into a broader consideration of the role of neurovascular unit and ischemic cascade.

Rat jugular vein catheterization model for the cross-over pharmacokinetic study of midazolam new formulation / 国际药学研究杂志

Objective To establish and optimize the rat jugular vein catheterization model in our lab, and perform a crossover study using this model to compare the pharmacokinetic characters of a newly developed midazolam formulation to the existing preparation. Methods Six SD rats (half male and half female) received the right jugular vein catheterization when the rats were sufficiently anesthetized. One week after the operation, all the rats were used to conduct a cross-over double period pharmacokinetic study. Totally1.33 mg/kg midazolam solutions from automatic needle and clinic available injection were adminisered to the jugular vein catheterization rats via im route. The washout period was 5 days. Exact volume of blood samples at designed time points were taken through the catheter. After preparation, the concentrations of midazolam in rat plasma were determined by using established LC-MS/MS method. The corresponding pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by WinNolin software. Results The rat jugular vein catheterization model was successfully built. Blood was easily sampled and rats were well tolerated, meeting the requirement of repeated blooding. This model solved the bottleneck of cross-over study performed in rats. The pharmacokinetic behavior of newly developed midazolam formulation had no difference with that of clinic injections. The relative bioavailability was around 99% . Conclusion   Rat jugular vein catheterization model is proved to be that of a propagating technique to do the cross-over study and to evaluate the pharmacokinetic characters of novel formulations.

Research advances on DNA extraction methods from peripheral blood mononuclear cells / 中国实验血液学杂志

DNA extraction is a basic technology of molecular biology. The purity and the integrality of DNA structure are necessary for different experiments of gene engineering. As commonly used materials in the clinical detection, the fast, efficient isolation and extraction of genomic DNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells is very important for the inspection and analysis of clinical blood. At present, there are many methods for extracting DNA, such as phenol-chloroform method, salting out method, centrifugal adsorption column chromatography method (artificial methods), magnetic beads (semi-automatic method) and DNA extraction kit. In this article, a brief review of the principle for existing DNA blood extraction method, the specific steps and the assessment of the specific methods briefly are summarized.

Application of microfluidics in sperm isolation and in vitro fertilization / 中华男科学杂志

Due to the low effectiveness of traditional assisted reproductive technology (ART), new technological possibilities are constantly explored. Lots of studies have demonstrated the potential of microfluidics to revolutionize the fundamental processes of in vitro fertilization (IVF). With the advantages of high efficiency, short time, harmless collection, real-time observation of separation, similar microenvironment, and automation, the application of microfluidics in sperm isolation and IVF has shown an evident superiority over the conventional approaches and provided a new platform for ART. This review highlights the application of various microfluidic techniques in sperm motility assessment and isolation, sperm chemotaxis assay, IVF, sperm concentration, and sperm separation and enrichment in recent years. It also briefly introduces the basic principles, structural design, and operation processes of the microfluidic platform, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of each method and the potential of their clinical application. Obviously, there are still some challenges to the application of microfluidics in ART. However, it is believed that the development of this new technology would be toward a highly integrated application of several steps in one single device, known as IVF-lab-on-a-chip.

Determination of morroniside concentration in rat plasma by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry / 中国中药杂志

Morroniside, an iridoid glycoside extracted from Cornus officinalis, has multiple pharmacological effects such as neuroprotection. This study took the lead in establishing a method for determining morroniside concentration in rat plasma by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Plasma samples were processed with protein precipitation method, with hyperoside as the internal standard. An Inertsil C8-3 column (2. 1 mm x 50 mm, 5 microm) was adopted, with a mobile phase composed of water (containing 1 mmol L-1 Sodium formate)-acetonitrile (gradient elution) at a flow rate of 0.4 mL . min -1. Electrospray ionization (ESI) was adopted in the positive ion mode for multi-reaction monitoring (MRM). Morroniside showed a good linear relationship ranging between 2-5 000 microg L-1 (r = 0. 995 7), with the minimum limit of quantification of 2 microg L-1. Its precise, accuracy, recovery and matrix effect were all in line with the biological sample measurement requirements. Therefore, the method described above was proved to be suitable for the determination of morroniside concentration in rat plasma. To use the method in the pharmacokinetic study on morroniside in rats, oral administration dose shall be set at 20 mg . kg - to map the plasma concentration-time curve. Main pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by DAS 2. 0. Specifically, AUC0-inifinity was (587.6 +/- 290. 7) microg min L-1, Cmax was (334.2+/-148.0) microg L-1, Tmax was (0.6 +/-0.3) h, t1/2 was (0.7+/-0.3) h.

Review of pharmacological effects and toxicological information of Arecae Semen / 中国中药杂志

The main chemical composition of Arecae Semen has been summarized, which can bring the pharmacological action and toxicological action to the nervous system, digestive system, cardiovascular system, urinary and reproductive system. Arecae Semen has inhibition and killing effect to most parasite. It can also activate the cholinergic receptor, promote gastrointestinal propulsive motility in mice and inhibit helicobacter pylori, Xu Lang schoenleinii, influenza virus. Arecae Semen chewing results in oral mucositis fibrosis, which has not only carcinogenic mutagenic effect but also eproductive and nervous system toxicity. And Chinese medicine Yinpian use Arecae Semen of compatibility has no adverse reaction reports.

Effectiveness of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in evaluating clinical responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy necessitates assessment of response to cytotoxic drugs. The aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for evaluating clinical responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We examined patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy for primary breast cancer between October 2007 and September 2008. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI was used to examine breast tumors prior to and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The MRI examination assessed tumors using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST). The Miller-Payne grading system was used as a histopathological examination to assess the effect of the treatment. We examined the relationship between the results of RECIST and histopathological criteria. In addition, we used time-signal intensity curves (MRI T-SI) to further evaluate the effects of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on tumor response.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>MRI examination of patients completing four three-week anthracycline-taxanes chemotherapy treatment revealed that no patients had complete responses (CR), 58 patients had partial responses (PR), 29 patients had stable disease (SD), and four with progressive disease (PD). The effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (CR + PR) was 63.7% (58/91). The postoperative histopathological evaluations revealed the following: seven G5 (pCR) cases (7.7%), 39 G4 cases (42.9%), 16 G3 cases (17.6%), 23 G2 cases (25.3%), and six G1 cases (6.6%). The effectiveness (G5 + G4 + G3) was 68.1% (62/91). MRI T-SI standards classified 53 responding cases, 29 stable cases, and nine progressing cases. These results indicated that the treatment was 58.2% effective (53/91) overall.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and histopathological standards were highly correlated. Importantly, MRI T-SI evaluation was found to be useful in assessing the clinical effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.</p>

Gene expression profiling of the proliferative effect of periplocin on mouse cardiac microvascular endothelial cells / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Periplocin is an active digitalis-like component from Cortex Periplocae, which has been widely used in the treatment of heart diseases in China for many years. According to the recommendations on the cardiovascular effect of periplocin from in vivo experiments, subsequent in vitro experiments are greatly needed for the global assessment of periplocin. The objective of this study is to investigate the cell proliferation effect and the mechanism of periplocin on endothelial cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The proliferative activity of periplocin (0.4, 2, 10, 50, 250 micromol/L; 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 h) was investigated by a comparison with the well-reported cardiac glycoside, ouabain, on mouse cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMEC). 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation and viability. Subsequently, cDNA microarray experiments were performed on periplocin- (50 micromol/L) and ouabain- (50 micromol/L) treated cells, and data was analyzed by ArrayTrack software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Periplocin could increase cell viability to a level lower than ouabain in the MTT analysis, but decrease LDH release simultaneously. The BrdU incorporation assay showed an increase in cell proliferation with 2-50 micromol/L periplocin. Genes related to protein serine/threonine kinase were the most significantly enriched in the 160 genes identified in periplocin versus the control. In the 165 genes regulated by periplocin versus ouabain, GTP-binding was the most altered term.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The results demonstrated the proliferation action of periplocin on CMEC. Meanwhile, its lower cytotoxicity compared to ouabain provides a new insight into the treatment of heart failure.</p>