Effect of Wenjing Huayu Zhitong Therapy in Treating Primary Dysmenorrhea and Its Regulatory Mechanisms on T Cell Subsets / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of Wenjing Huayu Zhitong therapy in treating primary dysmenorrhea (PD) with cold coagulation and blood stasis, and to explore its immune mechanisms on PD. Method:The 108 PD patients with cold coagulation and blood stasis syndrome were collected and randomly divided into traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) group, ibuprofen group and placebo group according to the random number table method, with 36 cases in each group. All patients received corresponding medicines three days before menstruation. The patients in TCM group were treated with TCM and ibuprofen sustained release capsule simulator. The patients in ibuprofen group were treated with ibuprofen sustained-release capsule and TCM simulator. The patients in placebo group were treated with TCM simulator and ibuprofen sustained-release capsule simulator. Treatment lasted for 6 consecutive days for three menstrual cycles, and follow-up was conducted for three menstrual cycles after drug withdrawal. The visual analogue score (VAS), total time of abdominal pain and TCM symptom scores in each menstrual cycle were recorded. The levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ in peripheral blood before and after treatment were detected by flow cytometry. Result:After treatment for three menstrual cycles, both the TCM group and ibuprofen group were better than placebo group in reducing VAS score and reducing total abdominal pain time (P<0.01). The long-term follow-up effect after drug withdrawal in TCM group was significantly better than that in ibuprofen group (P<0.01). The total effective rate was 91.43% (32/35) in TCM group, 66.67% (10/33) in ibuprofen groups, and 30.30% (10/33) in placebo group . The efficacy of the TCM group was better than that of the ibuprofen group (χ2=-2.971, P<0.01), and the efficacy of the ibuprofen group was better than that of the placebo group (χ2=-2.371, P<0.05). After treatment, the levels of CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ in TCM group were significantly increased and the levels of CD8+ were decreased significantly as compared with those before treatment (P<0.01). After treatment, the levels of CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ in TCM group were higher (P<0.05，P<0.01)，while the levels of CD8+ were significantly lower than those in ibuprofen group and placebo group (P<0.01). Conclusion:Wenjing Huayu Zhitong therapy can reduce the VAS score and accumulative time of abdominal pain, and improve the dysmenorrhea symptoms in patients with PD. Reversal of the T cell subsets disorder may be one of its mechanisms in treating PD with cold coagulation and blood stasis.

Relationship between hepatitis B virus X protein and hepatic cellular cancer / 药学学报

Hepatic cellular cancer (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world, which is a serious threat to human health and life quality. More than 700 000 people die of HCC each year on average, and its incidence increases in many countries. Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been identified as a dominant risk factor for HCC. The pathogenesis of HBV-induced hepatocarcinogenesis is, however, incom-pletely understood. Evidence currently available supports a key role of the HBV X protein (HBx) in the cancer transformation and malignant tumor metastasis. HBx is a multifunctional regulator that may cooperate with the host factors to exert its effects on transcription, signal transduction, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, protein degradation, expression of oncogene and anti-oncogene. This review presents the current knowledge in the molecular pathogenesis of HBx in the induction of HCC.

Variants of Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 are Associated with Neither Neuromyelitis Optica Nor Multiple Sclerosis in the Southeastern Han Chinese Population / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are demyelinating disorders of the central nervous system. Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is a common susceptibility gene to different autoimmune disorders. However, the association of IRF5 variants with NMO and MS patients has not been well studied. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate whether IRF5 variants were associated with NMO and MS in the Southeastern Han Chinese population.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected and genotyped by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry in 111 NMO patients, 145 MS patients and 300 controls from Southeastern China.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>None of these 4 SNPs was associated with NMO or MS patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Our preliminary study indicates that genetic variants in IRF5 may affect neither NMO nor MS in the Southeastern Han Chinese population. Further studies with a large sample size and diverse ancestry populations are needed to clarify this issue.</p>

Variants of Interleukin-7/Interleukin-7 Receptor Alpha are Associated with Both Neuromyelitis Optica and Multiple Sclerosis Among Chinese Han Population in Southeastern China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are autoimmune demyelinating diseases of the central nerve system. Interleukin-7 (IL-7) and interleukin-7 receptor alpha (IL-7Rα) were proved to be important in the pathogenesis of both diseases because of the roles they played in the differentiations of autoimmune lymphocytes. The variants of both genes had been identified to be associated with MS susceptibility in Caucasian, Japanese and Korean populations. However, the association of these variants with NMO and MS has not been well studied in Chinese Southeastern Han population. Here, we aimed to evaluate the association of six IL-7 variants (rs1520333, rs1545298, rs4739140, rs6993386, rs7816065, and rs2887502) and one variant of IL-7RA (rs6897932) with NMO and MS among Chinese Han population in southeastern China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MassARRAY system) and Sanger sequencing were used to determine the variants of IL-7 and IL-7RA in 167 NMO patients, 159 MS patients and 479 healthy controls among Chinese Han population in southeastern China. Samples were excluded if the genotyping success rate <90%.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Statistical differences were observed in the genotypes of IL-7 rs1520333 in MS patients and IL-7RA rs6897932 in NMO patients, compared with healthy controls (P = 0.035 and 0.034, respectively). There was a statistically significant difference in the genotypes of IL-7 rs2887502 between MS and NMO patients (P = 0.014). And there were statistically significant differences in the rs6897932 genotypes (P = 0.004) and alleles (P = 0.042) between NMO-IgG positive patients and healthy controls.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The study suggested that among Chinese Han population in southeastern China, the variant of IL-7RA (rs6897932) was associated with NMO especially NMO-IgG positive patients while the variant of IL-7 (rs1520333) with MS patients. And the genotypic differences of IL-7 rs2887502 between MS and NMO indicated the different genetic backgrounds of these two diseases.</p>