Heterogeneity of viral bronchiolitis / 中国实用儿科杂志

Bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection and the leading cause of hospitalization in infants. It has become one of the public health problems worldwide. The pathogenesis is unclear and there are currently no targeted therapies that have been proven to be effective in bronchiolitis. There exists a poor understanding of the mechanisms underlying the variable disease severity and the inconsistent manifestation of long-term respiratory morbidity. Nor can these outcomes be reliably predicted in patients on initial presentation. Bronchiolitis is generally considered a single disease,however,more and more researches have shown that it is a heterogeneous disease that needs individualized and specific treatment,with differences in etiology,clinical charicteristics,immunology,microecology and long-term respiratory outcomes. The study on heterogeneity of viral bronchiolitis will contribute to individualized and targeted therapy and may reduce the development of recurrent wheezing and asthma.

Effect of glutathione on blood coagulation function / 中国实验血液学杂志

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of glutathione (GSH) on blood coagulation. The normal plasma samples and mixed plasma samples were taken randomly, and into which the normal dose and different concentration of GSH were added. The prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB) and thrombin time (TT) were detected by using coagulation method before and after treatment with GSH. The detection results of normal plasma and mixed plasma containing GSH of different concentration were compared and analyzed with linear regression. The results showed that the APTT and FIB values of the plasma containing 2.5 mg/L glutathione or more, PT values of the plasma containing 10 mg/L glutathione or more, and TT values of the plasma containing 1250 mg/L glutathione or more were significantly different from those results of normal plasma or mixed plasma (P < 0.01) . There was a linear relation between all of the detection results of PT,APTT, FIB, TT and glutathione concentrations. The results of TT, APTT, PT and FIB detection in patient plasma were statistically different (P < 0.01) before and after treatment with normal concentration GSH. It is concluded that glutathione can influence detection results of coagulation function.

Effects of Ginkgo biloba extract 50 on hypoxia induced endothelial dysfunction / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To preliminarily investigate the influence of hypoxia on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and the effect of Ginkgo biloba extract 50 (GBE50) on it.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Flow cytometry, TUNEL, RT-PCR, Western blot, etc. were applied, to study the effect of hypoxia and GBE50 on endothelial cells.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After being interfered by hypoxia for 24 h, the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in HUVECs and the apoptotic rate either in the early or in the late stage significantly increased, and accompanied with the increased levels of endothelin-1 mRNA (ET-1) and endothelial oxide synthase (eNOS) protein. However, when HUVECs were pretreated with GBE50 (25 [microg/ml) 4 h before hypoxia, the apoptotic rate in the early or late stage and expression of ET-1 mRNA significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and the heightened ROS level and eNOS expression partially decreased (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Hypoxia can induce endothelial dysfunction, which could be partially or significantly reversed by GBE50, it shows a certain protective effect on hypoxia induced endothelial dysfunction.</p>

Detection of PTCH gene mutations in odontogenic keratocysts by SSCP and DNA sequencing / 华西口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate PTCH gene mutations in odontogenic keratocysts (OKC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>PCR-SSCP and DNA sequencing were used to analyze the PTCH gene mutations in 12 OKCs, including 10 sporadic and 2 nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) associated OKC.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Four mutations were identified in 4 cysts, among which two germline mutations were associated with NBCCS and 2 somatic mutations were in 2 unrelated sporadic cases. In addition, eight previously reported polymorphisms in the PTCH gene were also found in 10 cases.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The present study indicated that both sporadic and NBCCS-related OKCs could carry PTCH gene mutation. Thus, mutational inactivation of PTCH gene may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of OKC.</p>