Role of Cytokines and Related Signaling Pathways in Intervention of Chinese Medicine in Radiation-induced Lung Injury： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Radiation-induced lung injury （RILI）， one of the common complications caused by radiotherapy， encompasses two phases： an early phase known as radiation pneumonitis （RP） and a late phase called radiation fibrosis （RF）， threatening the life and life quality of patients， with poor prognosis. Accumulating evidence has shown that the occurrence of RILI is related to a variety of cytokines and signaling pathways. This paper summarized the research on the effects of Chinese medicine on RILI from the perspective of cytokines and signaling pathways. Cytokines include transforming growth factor-β1 （TGF-β1）， interleukins （ILs）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， platelet-derived growth factor （PDGF）， vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）， and high mobility group box-1 （HMGB1）. Related signaling pathways are phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B（PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） signaling pathway， Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway， Notch1/Jagged1 signaling pathway， and nuclear factor-E2-related factor2/antioxidant response element （Nrf2/ARE） signaling pathway. Cytokines may interfere with RILI progression by initiating various downstream signaling pathways， such as TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway， TGF-β1/VEGF signaling pathway， TNF-α/nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） signaling pathway， and HMGB1/Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4） signaling pathway. In recent years， many scholars have attempted to delay RILI progression by down-regulating the expression of cytokines， antagonizing the effect of cytokines or regulating signaling pathways. It has been verified that many Chinese medicines， Chinese medicine monomers， and compound Chinese medicine prescriptions can inhibit the release of some cytokines or regulate some signaling pathways to reduce the incidence/severity of RILI， with satisfactory therapeutic effects， which have attracted the interest of scholars.

Self-evaluation of doctor-patient communication ability of pediatric residents and investigation on the training needs of them / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective:To investigate the current status of doctor-patient communication of pediatric residents, and to explore the specific demand of communication skills training in clinical practice.Methods:A self-made questionnaire was conducted to investigate 77 residents taking standardized residency training of pediatrics in Beijing Children's Hospital training base, including basic information, self-satisfaction of communication ability and the needs of doctor-patient communication courses, etc. SPSS 22.0 statistical software was used for data processing and analysis.Results:In terms of the doctor-patient communication ability, the results showed that the satisfaction degree of pediatric resident surgeons was higher than that of pediatric resident physicians (78.9% vs. 58.5%, P=0.108) and the satisfaction degree of high-seniority residents was higher than that of low-seniority residents (78.6% vs. 62.5%, P=0.330; 78.6% vs. 58.9%, P=0.278). Besides, the importance of communication objectives and the degree of difficulty were sorted in order, and the top three were family members, superior and children for importance, and family members, children and nurses for difficulty, respectively. The main reasons of difficult communication included heavy work (41.6%) and lack of communication skills (46.7%), with no statistical difference between different majors and seniorities ( P >0.05). More than 80% residents agreed that effective doctor-patient communication could promote the clinical work. The lower of seniority, the higher demands for the class time allocation and teaching frequency of doctor-patient communication training courses. Conclusion:Pediatric residents have a good cognition of medical doctor-patient communication. There are some obvious communication problems in pediatric physicians and low-seniority pediatric residents. Therefore, it's necessary to adjust courses according to different majors and seniorities, so as to improve the training quality, thereby promoting the clinical work and reform of medical education.

Clinical characteristics and next generation sequencing of three cases of Listeria monocytogenes meningitis with complications / 中华儿科杂志

Objective@#To summarize the clinical characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes meningitis (LMM) with complications, and analyze the outcomes of next generation sequencing.@*Methods@#Clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, imaging features, antibiotics treatment, and next generation sequencing of cerebrospinal fluid were analyzed in 3 LMM patients who were hospitalized in the Department of Infectious Diseases of Beijing Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from July 2015 to November 2017.@*Results@#The three patients were 1-year-old girl, 2-year-old girl, and 9-year-old boy, with normal immune function. They had eaten refrigerated food, milk or dairy products before onset. Symptoms included fever, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and convulsions, etc. The complications of two cases (case 2 and 3) were appendicitis and Meckel′s diverticulitis. The other one (case 1) was with sepsis and pneumonia. Leukocyte counts in cerebrospinal fluid were elevated in all the three cases, and cranial magnetic resonance imaging showed meningeal or periventricular involvement. All the children were diagnosed with LMM by positive CSF culture. CSF for next generation sequencing was sent after carbapenem antibiotics using, yet all the results were positive. The positive results were returned 2, 9, and 9 days earlier than culture results, respectively. The gene coverage was 5.00%, 7.00%, 0.04%, and the reads was 2 561, 1 011 and 8, respectively. All the three children had recurrent fever despite using cephalosporin. Levels of leukocytes in the blood and CSF further elevated. After using carbapenem antibiotics, patients improved eventually and were discharged from hospital.@*Conclusions@#LMM can occur in children with normal immune function and is usually associated with digestive system symptoms. Listeria monocytogenes can be detected quickly and accurately by the next generation sequencing technology, without being limited to sampling time and antibiotics application.

Study on synergistic antidepressant effect of 3,6-disinapoyl sucrose combined with tenuifoliside A and its possible mechanism / 中国药理学通报

Aim To study the synergistic anti-depres-sion effect of 3 , 6-disinapoyl sucrose ( DISS ) and tenuifoliside A ( TFSA ) from Radix Polygalae and the preliminary mechanism . Methods Using the classical behavioral despair and depression model of mouse tail suspension test, 120 mice were divided into control group, positive group, DISS 5 mg·kg-1 group,DISS 10 mg·kg-1 group,TFSA 5 mg·kg-1 group,TFSA 10 mg· kg-1 group, DISS 5 mg · kg-1 +TFSA 5 mg · kg-1 group,DISS 5 mg·kg-1 +TFSA 10 mg·kg-1 group,DISS 10 mg·kg-1 +TFSA 5 mg·kg-1 group and DISS 10 mg · kg-1 +TFSA 10 mg · kg-1 group randomly. They were given intragastric injection for 7 days continuously, to observe the effect of DISS and TFSA monomer and its combination on the time of mouse tail suspension. Expression of BDNF in the hip-pocampus of mice was detected by immunohistochemis-try. The expressions of CREB, pCREB, CRTC1 and BDNF in the hippocampus of mice were detected by Western blot method. Results The administration of DISS and TFSA could shorten the immobility time of mice subjected to the tail. DISS ( 10 mg · kg-1 ) and TFSA( 10 mg · kg-1 ) group were significantly lower than single dose drug group(P<0. 05). DISS and TF-SA and the combination groups could increase the ex-pression of BDNF in hippocampus and cortex by immu-nohistochemistry(P <0. 05). At the same time, the contents of CREB, CRTC1, pCREB and BDNF protein in the hippocampus were increased by DISS and TF-SA, and the combination group was significantly higher than the single drug group ( P<0. 05 ) . Conclusion The administration of DISS and TFSA are used to acti-vate CREB transcription factor CRTC1 , and activate the phosphorylation of CREB in the hippocampus, and then increase the expression of BDNF in the hippocam-pus and plays a synergistic antidepressant effect.

Influence ofQing-Chang Hua-Shi Recipe on IL-6Trans-signaling in Experimental Colitis in Mice / 世界科学技术-中医药现代化

This study was aimed to observe the influence ofQing-Chang Hua-Shi Recipe (QHR) on IL-6trans-signaling in experimental colitis mice, in order to initially explore the possible mechanisms of QHR for ulcerative colitis (UC). TNBS/ethanol was used in the establishment of colitis mice model. After intervention of medication, ELISA was used in the detection of soluble Interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R). Real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression level of IL-6 and glycoprotein 130 (gp130). Western blot was used in the observation of protein expression of IL-6 and gp130 in the colonic mucosa. The results showed that the level of sIL-6R, the mRNA and protein expression of IL-6 and gp130 in the model group were significantly higher than that in the control group. QHR was able to reduce the sIL-6R level (P < 0.01), decreased the mRNA and protein expression of IL-6 and gp130 (P < 0.01) in the colon tissues among experimental colitis mice. It was concluded that QHR had good anti-inflammatory effects on experimental colitis mice. It might be associated with influencing IL-6trans-signaling.

IMP3 and CD44 protein expression in recurrent bladder urothelial carcinoma / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective:To evaluate the expression of IMP3 and CD44 proteins in recurrent urothelial carcinoma (UC) and to deter-mine the correlation between the two proteins. Methods: Data from transurethral resection of bladder (TURB) cancer cases between January 2002 and December 2012 were reviewed. Of the 54 UC recurrent cases in this study, one group of 25 had experienced recur-rence within 6 months after surgery, and the other group of 29 had their first recurrence after more than 3 years. IMP3 and CD44 immu-noreactivities were increased, which correlated with the clinicopathologic parameters. The relationship between IMP3 and CD44 pro-tein expressions was also explored. Results:Six of the 25 short-term recurrent UC cases were tested positive for IMP3 and all belonged to high-grade UC. Among the 29 long-term recurrent patients, only one case of low-grade UC tested positive for IMP3. IMP3 expres-sion rate [24%(6/25)] and intensity [weak staining at 16%(4/25) and strong staining at 8%(2/25)] were higher in the short-term recur-rent group than those in the long-term group, which had an expression rate of 3.45% (1/29) and intensity rates for weak staining at 3.45%(1/29) and without strong staining (0/29). No difference was observed in the CD44 expression between the two groups. In addi-tion, the high expression of IMP3 correlated with higher tumor stage and grade, whereas the CD44 expression tended to be inversely correlated with the tumor grade in recurrent UC patients. Furthermore, no correlation existed between the expression of IMP3 and CD44 proteins in the bladder carcinoma specimens. Conclusion:IMP3 exhibited a significantly higher expression rate in short-term re-current UC specimens than in the long-term recurrent cases. Therefore, IMP3 could be used as a novel marker, together with the other factors including tumor stage and grade, for predicting the high risk of short-term recurrence in UC patients who underwent TURB.

Study on gallic acid induced human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells apoptosis and its mechanism / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the proliferative effect and the apoptosis of human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells induced by gallic acid ( GA ) , and its underlying mechanism. Methods SMMC-7721 cells were cul-tured in vitro. MTT assay was used to observe the pro-liferation of SMMC-7721 cells induced on GA 24 , 48 , 72 h. The morphological and ultra structural changes of the SMMC-7721 cells were observed by inverted micro-scope and transmission electron microscope respective-ly. Annexin V-FITC/PI staining was used to quantify the percentages of apoptosis in the total cell popula-tion. The expression of p53 mRNA was investigated by RT-PCR. Western blot was used to determine the pro-tein expression of p53. Results GA(6. 25~50 μmol ·L-1 ) markedly inhibited the activity of proliferation and induced apoptosis of SMMC-7721 cells after 48 h in a dose-dependent manner. GA significantly induced cell nuclear condensation and fragmentation. RT-PCR and Western blot results showed that GA could improve the expression of p53 mRNA and protein. Conclusion GA can inhibit the proliferation of human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells and induce cells apoptosis. The mechanism may be associated with improving tumor suppressor gene p53 expression.