Correlation among plasma levels of hsCRP, Hcy and blood pressure variability in patients with essential hypertension / 心血管康复医学杂志

Objective: To explore correlation among plasma levels of high sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP), homocysteine (Hcy) and blood pressure variability (BPV) in patients with essential hypertension (EH). Methods: According to plasma Hcy level, a total of 150 EH patients were divided into low Hcy group (n=58, Hcy＜10μmol/L), medium Hcy group (n=69, Hcy 10～20μmol/L) and high Hcy group (n=53, Hcy＞20μmol/L); according to plasma hsCRP level, they were divided into low hsCRP group (n=55, hsCRP＜5mg/L), medium hsCRP group (n=64, hsCRP 5～10mg/L) and high hsCRP group (n=61, hsCRP＞10mg/L). Blood lipids, blood glucose, renal function indexes and BPV were measured and compared among all groups, and the correlation among plasma Hcy, hsCRP levels and BPV were analyzed. Results: Compared with low Hcy group, there were significant rise in 24h SBP standard deviation [24hSSD, (13. 26±3. 09) mmHg vs. (15. 68±3. 71) mmHg vs. (18. 39±4. 06) mmHg], daytime SSD [dSSD, (13. 12±3. 20) mmHg vs. (15. 09±3. 73) mmHg vs. (17. 82±3. 83) mmHg]and nighttime SSD [nSSD, (11. 29±2. 60) mmHg vs. (13. 63±2. 74) mmHg vs. (16. 09±2. 80) mmHg]in medium Hcy group and high Hcy group, and those of high Hcy group were significantly higher than those of medium Hcy group, P＜0. 01 all. Compared with low hsCRP group, there were significant rise in 24SSD [(13. 35±3. 12) mmHg vs. (16. 04±3. 69) mmHg vs. (18. 55±4. 17) mmHg], dSSD [(12. 96±3. 14) mmHg vs. (15. 18±3. 81) mmHg vs. (18. 05±3. 90) mmHg]and nSSD [(11. 08±2. 53) mmHg vs. (13. 76±2. 85) mmHg vs. (16. 18±3. 05) mmHg]in medium hsCRP group and high hsCRP group, and those of high hsCRP group were significantly higher than those of medium hsCRP group, P=0. 001 all. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that plasma Hcy and hsCRP levels were significant positively correlated with 24hSSD, dSSD and nSSD in EH patients (r=0. 294～0. 419, P＜0. 05 all). Conclusion: Plasma Hcy and hsCRP levels are significant positively correlated with SBP variability in EH patients. Their monitoring contributes to evaluating their blood pressure variability.

Informed consent competency and related factors in patients with schizophrenia / 中国心理卫生杂志

Objective:To analyze related factors to the informed consent competency of patients with schizophrenia.Methods:Subjects were divided into two groups,namely one group including 100 patients with schizophrenia and the other group including 28 heathy controls.Patients with schizophrenia were administrated from community rehabilitation units and The Sixth Hospital of Peking University,diagnosed with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorder,Fourth Edition (DSM-Ⅳ).Informed consent competency of subjects were evaluated with the Chinese Mandarin Version of MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research.Psychiatric symptoms,intelligence quotient and severity of disease were accessed individually with the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS),Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) and Clinical General ImpressionSeverity Scale (CGI-S).Logistic regression analysis model was used to analyze the risk factors of impaired informed consent competency in schizophrenia.Retsrts:The rates of absent,impaired and adequate informed consent competency were 26.0％ (26/100),47.0％ (47/100) and 27.0％ (27/100) in schizophrenia group,and 3.6％ (1/28),57.1％ (16/28) and 39.3 ％ (11/28) in control group.Rate of absent informed consent competency was higher in schizophrenia group than that in control group (26.0％ vs.3.6％,P ＜0.01).There were no statistic significant differences in rates of impaired and adequate informed consent competency between two groups (both P ＞ 0.05).Results of logistic regression analysis showed that schizophrenic patients with higher scores of positive subscale (OR =1.15),negative subscale (OR =1.23) and CGI-S (OR =1.57) had more tendency to impaired capacity.Higher education level (OR =0.73) and higher scores of IQ (OR =0.92) had less risks for that.Conclusion:Competency of informed consent in schizophrenia may be worse than that in health control.Patients with schizophrenia with impaired informed consent competency may have more serious of positive,negative psychiatric symptoms and higher severity of disease.Higher level of education and IQ scores may reduce the risk of impaired informed consent competency.

Apoptosis of Kasumi-1 cells induced by puerariae radix flavones and its molecular mechanism / 中华血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects and the molecular mechanism of puerariae radix flavones (PRF) on acute myeloid leukemia cell line Kasumi-1 cells in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Kasumi-1 cells treated by PRF for 48 hours were observed with Wright's and Hoechst 33258 dying. The apoptotic cells were analyzed by flow cytometry with AnnexinV/PI staining. The expression levels of bcl-2, Bim and Caspase-3/-8/-9 protein were assayed by Western blot and the AML1-ETO fusion gene was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>PRF could induce Kasumi-1 cells to apoptosis effectively. The proportion of apoptotic cells in 50, 200 and 500 µg/ml PRF treatment groups were (14.1 ± 0.8)%, (17.7 ± 1.3)% and (32.4 ± 1.4)%, respectively, and significantly higher than that of control \[(7.8 ± 0.7)%\]. The relative expression levels of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein were 0.85 ± 0.05, 0.62 ± 0.07 and 0.43 ± 0.05; the apoptotic Bim protein were 0.21 ± 0.06, 0.39 ± 0.04 and 0.75 ± 0.05; the caspase-3 and caspase-9 were 0.92 ± 0.04, 1.21 ± 0.07, 1.33 ± 0.04 and 0.35 ± 0.05, 0.53 ± 0.03, 0.69 ± 0.07, respectively. Compared to the blank control group, all these changes were significant (P < 0.01). Nevertheless, nearly no changes could be observed on the expression level of AML1-ETO fusion gene and caspase-8 protein.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Apoptosis of Kasumi-1 cells induced by PRF might correlate to the down-regulation of Bcl-2 protein expression and the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8 protein in the cells. It seemed that all these effects had no relationship with the AML1-ETO fusion gene.</p>

Inhibitory effect of flavonoids of puerarin on proliferation of different human acute myeloid leukemia cell lines in vitro / 中国实验血液学杂志

This study was aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of flavonoids of puerarin (PR) in different concentrations on proliferation of 4 kinds of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines (Kasumi-1, HL-60, NB4 and U937), and to explore its possible mechanism. The MTT method was used to detected the inhibitory effect of PR on proliferation of AML cell lines. The flow cytometry was adopted to determine the change of cell cycle in vitro. The results showed that a certain concentration of PR could inhibit the proliferation of these 4 cell lines effectively in time-and dose-dependent manners, and the intensity of inhibition on 4 kinds of AML cell lines was from high to low as follows: NB4>Kasumi-1>U937>HL-60. Meanwhile, PR could also change cycle process, cell proportion in G1/G0 phase decreased, cells in S phase increased and Sub-diploid peak also appeared. It is concluded that PR can selectively inhibit the proliferation of 4 AML cell lines and block cell cycle process, especially for NB4 cells.

Apoptosis of NB4 cells induced by flavonoids of puerarin in vitro / 中国实验血液学杂志

This study was aimed to investigate the effects of flavonoids of puerarin (PR) on apoptosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line NB4 cells and its mechanism. The NB4 were treated with PR in vitro, the MTT assay was used to detect the inhibitory effect of PR on cell proliferation. The apoptosis of NB4 cells were detected by flow cytometry labelled with Annexin V/PI. The expressions of pml/rar alpha, bcl-2 and survivin were detected by real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (real time RT-PCR), the expressions of JNK, p38 MAPK, FasL, caspase 3, caspase 8 were detected by Western blot. The results showed that with the increasing of PR concentrations, the apoptosis rates of NB4 cells were gradually elevated. Simultaneously, the mRNA expression of pml/rar alpha, bcl-2 and survivin decreased, while the protein expression of JNK, FasL, caspase 3 and caspase 8 increased, which presented the positive correlation to PR concentrations. When PR combined with arsenic trioxide (ATO), the expression levels of above mentioned mRNA and protein decreased or increased more significantly. It is concluded that PR can effectively induce the apoptosis of NB4 cells. PR combined with ATO displays synergistic effect. It may be triggered by the activation of JNK signal pathway.

Influence of acid stimulation on expression of acid-sensing ion channel 1a and 3 in type I cells of rat carotid body / 生理学报

The experiments were carried out to test whether acid-sensing ion channel 1a and 3 (ASIC1a and ASIC3) were expressed on the primarily cultured type I cells of rat carotid bodies (CBs) and whether the expression of the channels was affected by acid stimulation. The Sprague-Dawley rats of either sex (50-100 g) were used. The CBs were isolated and primarily cultured. The immunofluorescent technique was used to detect the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a specific marker of type I cells, in order to identify the type of the cultured cells. The double-label immunofluorescent technique was used to detect the expression of ASIC1a and ASIC3 on the TH-positive type I cells. To detect the influence of acid stimulation on the expressions of ASIC1a and ASIC3, each batch of primarily cultured cells were randomly divided into pH7.3 group (control group), pH6.8 group and pH6.2 group (n=9 in each group). The cells in above three groups were treated with pH7.3, pH6.8 and pH6.2 mediums for 24 h, respectively, and then the mRNA expressions of ASIC1a and ASIC3 in type I cells were detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR technique. The results showed that more than 93% of the primarily cultured CB cells were TH-positive, indicating that most of the cultured cells were type I cells. Furthermore, all TH-positive cells expressed ASIC1a or ASIC3. After the cells were treated with acid stimulation, the amount of ASIC1a mRNA did not change significantly (P>0.05 vs control group); the amount of ASIC3 mRNA had no significant change in pH6.8 group compared with that in control group, but decreased significantly in pH6.2 group (P<0.01 vs control group, P<0.05 vs pH6.8 group). It is concluded that acid stimulation down-regulates the level of ASIC3 mRNA, but has no effect on the level of ASIC1a mRNA.

A randomized controlled trial of acupuncture treatment of acute ischemic stroke / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore effects of acupuncture on ability of daily living (ALD) and the incidence rate of disability and mortality of the patient of acute ischemic stroke.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty patients with acute ischemic stroke were randomly assigned to an acupuncture group and a control group, 20 cases in each group. The treatment group were treated with acupuncture for 3-4 weeks, 5 times each week, and routine therapy. The control group were treated with routine therapy alone.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No statistically significant differences between the two groups in the score of neurological defection, and the incidence rate of disability and mortality at following survey of 3 and 6 months were found.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture is safe and feasible for stroke at early stage.</p>

Expression of HOXB4 in cord blood progenitor cells expanded in vitro / 中国实验血液学杂志

HOXB4, a member of homeobox gene family, is closely related to the self-renewing and proliferative ability of primitive hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (PHSC/PHPC). This study was aimed to investigate the self-renewing level of cord blood progenitor cells (CBPC) expanded in vitro. The HOXB4 expression at mRNA level was assayed by using real time RT-PCR. The results indicated that as culture prolonged, the total cells, CD34(+) cells greatly increased, however the HOXB4 expression gradually declined, even down to undetectable level similar to that of mature lymphocytes. Meanwhile, it was shown that CD34(+) cells co-cultured with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC) could abate the decline of HOXB4 expression. It is concluded that the self-renewing potential of CD34(+) cells gradually decreased during expansion in vitro, co-culture with BM-MSC was helpful to CD34(+) cell expansion and slowed the loss trend of its self-renewal.

HOXB gene family and functions of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells--review / 中国实验血液学杂志

Recently, many researches indicated the important role played by homeobox (HOX) gene family in normal hematopoiesis. As a kind of transcription factors, HOX gene products regulate and control the expression of target genes by binding to special DNA sequences. HOXB, a member of HOX gene family, especially HOXB(4), interests people greatly. It has been found that its expression relates closely to the self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells and effective proliferation of hematopoietic progenitor cells. This review presents some new research progress in this area.

Tutin-induced epileptiform discharge of CA1 pyramidal cells in rat hippocampal slices / 生理学报

Previous studies showed that a mixture, Coriaria Lactone (CL), extracted from a traditional Chinese herb Loranthus Parasiticus Mer, had a great excitatory influence on the nervous system, resulting in seizure. But what component in CL causes seizure is unclear. Tutin is a pure chemical component derived from CL. The present experiments were carried out to test if tutin has any epileptogenic action and to preliminarily study the mechanism underlying that action in vitro. The electrical activity of CA1 pyramidal cells, population spikes (PS), evoked by stimulation of the Schaffer collaterals in rat hippocampal slices was recorded extracellularly. The effects of tutin on the PS and the antagonistic actions of CNQX and AP-5 on the tutin-induced effects were investigated. The results are as follows. (1) Superfusion with 40, 30 and 20 microg/ml tutin caused significant increase in the amplitude and number of PS waves evoked by stimulating the Schaffer collaterals. Thirty minutes after superfusion of tutin, the amplitude of the first wave of the PSs was increased by (388.7+/-0.1)%, (317.2+/-19.1)% and (180.9+/-11.6)% in each of the above three groups, respectively, compared with the control (for each group, n=5, P<0.05). (2) With increase in amplitude, the PS number was increased to 4~11 waves from a single wave in the control and manifested multiple epileptiform discharges 30 min superfusion with tutin. (3) Spontaneous epileptiform discharges of CA1 pyramidal cells were obtained in 9 out of 34 cases after tutin superfusion. (4) The tutin-induced multiple epileptiform discharges of the CA1 pyramidal cells were completely blocked by CNQX, in aspects of both amplitude and number of the PS. Following the application of AP-5, the increase in the wave number of the tutin-induced epileptiform discharges was inhibited but the increase in the amplitude of the discharges was not significantly affected. These results indicate that tutin can induce typical multiple epileptiform discharges of CA1 pyramidal cells in rat hippocampal slices and might be used as an efficient epileptogenic agent, and that the excitable glutamate receptors, especially the non-NMDA receptors, may participate in the genesis of tutin-induced epileptiform discharges.