Clinical value of serum β-HCG detection in the diagnosis of abnormal pregnancy / 中国基层医药

Objective To explore the value of serum human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG) and progesterone (P) levels in the early diagnosis for abnormal pregnancy.Methods 53 cases with abnormal pregnancy and 30 normal pregnancy women were enrolled from Sep.2009 to Dec.2014 in our hospital.The automated chemiluminescent microparticle was used to detect the levels of β-HCG and P in serum,then analyzed the results.Results The expression of P was not associated with gestational weeks both in the normal and abnormal pregnancy patients on the day of admission (t =10.42,P ＜0.05),while the expression of β-HCG was increased with gestational weeks,and the difference was statistically significant (t =7.98,P ＜ 0.05).The level of E2 in both two groups had slight elevated with the gestational factors (t =0.43,P ＞ 0.05).Despite of gestational factors,the levels of E2/β-HCG and P in abnormal pregnancy group were lower than those in normal pregnancy group,the differences were statistically significant (all P ＜ 0.05).Analysis of the effective rate of conservative treatment for abnormal pregnancy patients,and it showed that success rate was 73.81％.Further analysis showed that the expression of β-HCG was not different in the success group and failure group (t =0.382,P ＞ 0.05),while the levels of P and E2 were much higher in success group than those in failure group with significant difference (t =9.431,6.792,all P ＜ 0.05).It showed that 12 ng/mL was the best one with perfect diagnosis value,and it could be used as an important index to evaluate the suitability of conservative treatment for abnormal pregnancy patients.Conclusion The levels of E2/β-HCG and P in serum can be used as important predictors in clinical diagnosis of abnormal pregnancy patients.

Gene variance in microsomal epoxide hydrolase and the susceptibility of coal workers' pneumoconiosis / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore whether the tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within EPHX1 gene were involved in the genetic susceptibility to coal worker's pneumoconiosis (CWP) by case-control study.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This study consisted of 697 CWP patients and 694 controls. All the subjects were Han Chinese, underground coal miners and recruited from coal mines of Xuzhou Mining Business Group Co Ltd.. The venous blood samples were obtained from all subjects and extracted genome DNA from the isolated leucocytes. Three SNPs were selected from the HapMap and the genotyping was done by the TaqMan method with the ABI 7900HT Real Time PCR system.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The Single SNP analyses showed that the genotype frequencies of EPHX1 (rs2234922) was significantly associated with decreased risk of CWP under co-dominant model (OR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.06~0.79, P = 0.020), recessive model (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.06~0.82, P = 0.023), and addictive model (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.58~0.96, P = 0.022). The further stratification analysis showed that the risk of CWP will significantly decreased in non-smoking groups (OR = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.01~0.83, P = 0.033).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Our results suggest that individuals with the EPHX1 (rs223492) GG genotype was associated with a dereased risk of CWP, and it has a protective effect on the developing CWP.</p>

Regulatory effect of miR-149 on interleukin-6 expression in silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the regulatory effect of miR-149 on interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression in silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis was established using silica dust; the level of miR-149 in the lung tissues of mice with silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), while the protein expression of IL-6 was measured by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Type II alveolar epithelial cells (A549) and bronchial epithelial cells (HBE) were exposed to silica dust to establish a model; the level of miR-149 was measured by qRT-PCR, while the protein expression of IL-6 was measured by Western blot. A549 cells were transfected with miR-149 mimics and inhibitor in vitro, and the cellular expression of IL-6 was measured by Western blot. Serum samples from patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis were examined by double-antibody sandwich ELISA to measure the protein expression of IL-6.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>At three time points after silica treatment, the miR-149 expression in lung tissues was significantly down-regulated while an evident increase in IL-6 expression was observed in lung tissues (P < 0.01). Silica-stimulated epithelial cell (A549 and HBE) had up-regulated IL-6 expression and down-regulated miR-149 expression (P < 0.01). Increased levels of miR-149 attenuated IL-6 expression, whereas adverse results were found when miR-149 was inhibited. Compared with that in control group, serum level of IL-6 was significantly increased in patients with stage II and III coal workers' pneumoconiosis (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Down-regulation of miR-149 and up-regulation of IL-6 might be involved in the progression of silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis; miR-149 could negatively regulate IL-6 expression.</p>