Relativity of gene polymorphism of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 to premature coronary heart disease / 解放军医学杂志

Objective To investigate the relationship between aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene polymorphism and premature coronary heart disease (CHD) in Chinese Han population.Methods A total of 505 patients were enrolled in the present study.Of them,375 were definitely diagnosed as CHD and another 130 were excluded from CHD by coronary angiography.Coronary heart disease patients were divided into premature coronary heart disease (male ＜55 years,female ＜65 years) group (n=150) and late onset coronary heart disease (male ≥ 55 years,female ≥ 65 years) group (n=225);According to whether after drinking flushing,the enrolled 505 patients were divided into alcohol flushing syndrome(AFS) group (n=135) and no AFS group (n=370);According to whether used to drinking,they were divided into accustomed to drinking group (n=189) and no drinking custom group (n=316).The ALDH2 gene polymorphism was analyzed by sanger sequencing.Results There was no significant difference in the distribution ofALDH2 genotype between the patients with premature CHD and late-onset CHD,also between CHD and non-CHD (P＞0.05).The logistic regression analysis showed that ALDH2 gene was not a predisposing factor of PCHD and CHD after adjusting for gender,age,smoking,drinking,body mass index (BMI),hypertension,diabetes,hyperlipidemia and family history of CHD (P=0.729,OR=1.098,95％CI 0.648-1.859;P=0.581,OR=1.156,95％CI 0.692-1.930).The incidence of ALDH2 mutant (GA+AA) was significantly higher in AFS group than in no AFS group (67.4％ vs.10.5％,P＜0.01).The gene mutation frequency was markedly higher in no drinking custom group than in accustomed to drinking group (29.7％ vs.19.1％,P＜0.01).Conclusions No obvious correlation exists between ALDH2 gene polymorphism and the incidence of premature CHD or the onset of CHD in Chinese Han population.There is a certain relationship between ALDH2 mutant gene and AFS.

Current pattern of Chinese dialysis units: a cohort study in a representative sample of units / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Understanding the characteristics of Chinese dialysis patients and the current practice trends is the first step to evaluate the association between practice pattern and outcome in these populations. In the present study, we evaluated the status of medical treatment and characteristic features of chronic dialysis patients in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Through a clustering sampling, we selected 9 centers from the largest dialysis facilities in 6 cities around China. All adult undergoing dialysis in the selected units were screened. A total of 2388 (1775 on hemodialysis (HD) and 613 on peritoneal dialysis (PD)) patients were finally enrolled. All data were collected at enrollment on the bases of review of medical records.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In this cohort, 1313 (55.0%) were male. The mean age was 54 years old. The median time for dialysis was 26 months (12 - 51 months). Seventy-five percent of patients were on HD and 25.0% on PD. Among PD patients, about 21% patients did not receive dialysis adequacy. For HD patients, about 14.0% of them did not achieve dialysis adequacy when the target of kt/V was set as 1.2. Only 44.7% of patients achieved blood pressure target of 140/90 mmHg. About 60% of patients did not reach the hemoglobin target of 110 g/L even though 85.0% of them were treated with erythropoietin. In addition, 48.5% of the patients had uncontrolled mineral metabolism revealed by the high calcium-phosphate product. Compared with HD patients, higher level of serum glucose, triglyceride, and total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol were more common in PD patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>This observational study suggests that many Chinese dialysis patients did not achieve the therapeutic target, particularly in blood pressure control, anemia correction, and mineral balance. PD patients were more likely to suffer metabolic disturbance.</p>

Effect of the ethanol extract of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora on the progression of chronic kidney disease in a rat remnant kidney model / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of the ethanol extract of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora (EPS) on renal function and tissue damage in a rat remnant kidney model.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Rat models of chronic kidney disease induced by 5/6 nephrectomy (5/6 Nx) were randomly assigned into two groups for treatment with a gavage of either EPS or vehicle for 9 weeks. The rats in the control group received only sham operation.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with vehicle-treated 5/6 Nx rats, the EPS-treated rats displayed significantly decreased urinary excretion of malondialdehyde, serum levels of AGEs and AOPPs, and increased serum SeGSHPx activities. These changes were associated with attenuated urinary protein excretion, glomerular sclerosis and interstitial fibrosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EPS can obviously improve the renal functions and renal pathologies in rats with chronic kidney disease probably by inhibiting the oxidative stress.</p>

Relationship between protein oxidation levels in the follicular fluid and the outcome parameters of in vitro fertilization-embryo transplantation / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the relationship between protein oxidation levels in the follicular fluid and the outcome parameters of in vitro fertilization-embryo transplantation (IVF-ET).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The levels of advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) in the follicular fluid were measured in 64 women with tubal infertility undergoing IVF-ET. The relationship between the AOPP levels and IVF-ET outcome parameters was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>AOPP levels showed significant inverse correlations between the proportion of mature oocytes (r=-0.401, P=0.001), fertilization rate (r=-0.257, P=0.045), cleavage rate (r=-0.290, P=0.024) and good embryo rate (r=-0.520, P=0.000). AOPP levels differed significantly between the groups with different retrieved oocyte numbers (F=3.851, P=0.027), being the lowest in women with 8 to 15 retrieved oocytes and the highest in those with retrieved oocytes below 8. The AOPP level in the non-pregnant women was significantly higher than that in the pregnant women (t=3.665, P=0.001). The AOPP levels also differed significantly with age (F=15.919, P=0.000), and the women >35 years of age had the highest level and those below 30 years had the lowest level.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Protein oxidative stress is present in the follicular fluid of women on IVF-ET cycles. High level of AOPP may have adverse effects on the oocytes and early embryonic development and may affect the outcome of IVF-ET.</p>

Effects of ultrapure water on the levels of oxidative stress and inflammation parameters in maintenance hemodialysis patients / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the effects of ultrapure water on the levels of oxidative stress and inflammation parameters in maintenance hemodialysis patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-six stable maintenance hemodialysis patients were involved in this study, who were free of acute infection, vasculitis or disease activity and on hemodialysis therapy for at least 3 months before using ultrapure water. The parameters including serum advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), myeloperoxidase (MPO), albumin (Alb), C-reactive protein (CRP), neopterin , tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and interleukin (IL)-6 were measured before and 6, 12 months after use of ultrapure water, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After modification of the water management system, the microbial counts and endotoxin concentration decreased significantly (P<0.01). During the study period, the levels of the measured parameters gradually improved, showing significant difference between the time points of measurement (P<0.05). Use of ultrapure water for 6 months significantly improved serum AOPP, MDA, GSH-Px, MPO, Alb, CRP, neopterin, and TNF-alpha levels (P<0.05), and the level of IL-6 was further reduced after 12 months (P<0.05). Serum MPO activity was closely correlated with AOPP (r=0.335, P<0.05) and CRP (r=0.369 or 0.347, P<0.05) before or after use of ultrapure water.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Ultrapure water can improve the status of oxidative stress and inflammation in maintenance hemodialysis patients. Serum MPO activity may help estimate the levels of oxidative stress and inflammation.</p>

Arginine vasopressin-induced nitric oxide content changes in cultured cardiac fibroblasts and its relation to nuclear factor-kappaB / 生理学报

To investigate the changes in the nitric oxide (NO) contents, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and inducible nitric oxide (iNOS) mRNA expression in arginine vasopressin (AVP)-induced cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) in vitro and its relation to nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), CFs were isolated by trypsin digestion method. Nitric acid reductase method, spectrophotometry, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), immunofluorescence-interactive laser cytometer techniques and Western blotting were used respectively to detect NO contents, NOS activity, iNOS mRNA expression and the activation of NF-kappaB in CFs. AVP increased NO contents, NOS activity and iNOS mRNA expressions in a concentration-dependent manner; NF-kappaB was activated and mobilized from cytoplasm to nucleus in AVP-induced CFs; PDTC, one of the inhibitors of NF-kappaB, could inhibit aforementioned increments. It is suggested that the increases in NO contents, elevation of NOS activity and increment of iNOS mRNA expression may be mediated through NF-kappaB activation pathway in cultured CFs induced by AVP, and that NF-kappaB is involved in the occurrence and development of myocardial fibrosis.