Research Progress on the Relationship between Coronary Artery Calcification and Chronic Renal Failure / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>Objective</b>Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is thought to be a controlled metabolic process that is very similar to the formation of new bone. In patients with chronic renal failure (CRF), CAC is very common, and CAC severity correlates with the deterioration of renal function. We summarized the current understanding and emerging findings of the relationship between CAC and CRF.</p><p><b>Data Sources</b>All studies were identified by systematically searching PubMed, Embase, and CNKI databases for the terms "coronary calcification", "chronic renal failure", "vascular smooth muscle cell", and their synonyms until September 2017.</p><p><b>Study Selection</b>We examined the titles and abstracts of all studies that met our search strategy thoroughly. The full text of relevant studies was evaluated. Reference lists of retrieved articles were also scrutinized for the additional relevant studies.</p><p><b>Results</b>CRF can accelerate CAC progression. CRF increases the expression of pro-inflammatory factors, electrolyte imbalance (e.g., of calcium, phosphorus), parathyroid hormone, and uremic toxins and their ability to promote calcification. These factors, through the relevant signaling pathways, trigger vascular smooth muscle cells to transform into osteoblast-like cells while inhibiting the reduction of vascular calcification factors, thus inducing further CAC.</p><p><b>Conclusions</b>Coronary heart disease in patients with CRF is due to multiple factors. Understanding the mechanism of CAC can help interventionists to protect the myocardium and reduce the prevalence of coronary heart disease and mortality.</p>

Tanshinone II A inhibits dendritic cell-mediated adaptive immunity: potential role in anti-atherosclerotic activity / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Antigen-presenting cells such as monocytes and dendritic cells (DCs) stimulate T-cell proliferation and activation during adaptive immunity. This cellular interaction plays a role in the growth of atherosclerotic plaques. Tanshinone II A (TSN) had been shown to decrease the growth of atherosclerotic lesions. We therefore investigated the ability of TSN to inhibit human monocyte-derived DCs and their T-cellstimulatory capacity.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>DCs derived from human monocytes cultured with recombinant human interleukin (IL)-4 and recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor were co-cultured with TSN and lipopolysaccharide for 48 h. Phosphate-buffered saline was used as a negative control. Activation markers and the capacity of DCs for endocytosis were measured by flow cytometry, and proinflammatory cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. DCs were co-cultured with lymphocytes to measure T-cell proliferation and IL-2 secretion by mixed lymphocyte reactions.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>TSN dose-dependently attenuated DC expression of costimulatory molecules (CD86), and decreased expression of major histocompatibility complex class II (human loukocyte antigen-DR) and adhesion molecules (CD54). Moreover, TSN reduced secretion of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-12 and IL-1 by human DCs, and restored the capacity for endocytosis. Finally, TSN-preincubated DCs showed a reduced capacity to stimulate T-cell proliferation and cytokine secretion.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>TSN inhibits DC maturation and decreases the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, while impairing their capacity to stimulate T-cell proliferation and cytokine secretion. These effects may contribute to the influence of TSN on the progression of atherosclerotic lesions.</p>

Professor Wang Ju-yi's experience on clinical application of Siguan points / 中国针灸

Professor WANG Ju-yi's clinical experience on application of Siguan points is introduced in this article. By summing up its origin, understanding the development course, summarizing its function in the history and Wang's years of clinical practice, Siguan points' four functions, which are dispersing external wind, extinguishing internal wind, searching the wind of joints in body and regulating the disorder of meridian, are discussed. Also the pathogenesis of its function is analyzed, which is addressed with medical cases to explain in detail Wang's process of meridian examination, meridian regulation and Siguan points application.

Impact of attack frequency and therapy strategies on outcome of patients with vasovagal syncope / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the impact of attack frequency as well as therapy strategies on outcome of patients with vasovagal syncope (VVS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 159 patients (aged from 15 - 59 years old) with VVS were included in this study. Patients were divided into low frequency (< 3) group (n = 95) and high (≥ 3) frequency group (n = 64) according to the attack frequency in the past 5 years at the primary survey. Patients received one of the three therapies: no treatment, physical therapy, and comprehensive treatment. All cases were followed up with telephone or outpatient visit for 24 months.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Incidence of syncope was significantly higher in the high frequency group and in the low frequency group [40.6% (26/64) vs. 11.6% (11/95), P < 0.01]. The overall improvement rate was significantly higher in the low frequency group than that of high frequency group (P < 0.01). Improvement rate was significantly higher in the physical therapy subgroup and the comprehensive treatment subgroup than no treatment subgroup for patients with low attack frequency [81.8% (27/33) vs. 47.1% (8/17), P < 0.05; 82.2% (37/45) vs. 47.1% (8/17), P < 0.05], and in comprehensive treatment subgroup than in physical therapy subgroups observed between and [62.2% (28/45) vs. 31.6% (6/19), P < 0.05] for patients with high attack frequency.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Outcome is related to previous attack frequency for patients with VVS, physical therapy is effective for reducing the recurrence rate of syncope in VVS patients with low attack frequency while physical therapy combined with pharmacotherapy should be applied for VVS patients with high attack frequency to improve outcome.</p>

Effect of hypoxia on the proliferation and hypoxia inducible factor-1α expression in human leukemia HL-60 cells / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effects of hypoxia on the proliferation of human leukemia HL-60 cells and the cellular expression of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Human acute myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells with exponential growth in routine culture were exposed to 50, 200, 400, 800 µmol/L CoCl(2) to mimic hypoxic conditions. At 24, 48, and 72 h, the cells were collected for morphological observation, MTT assay, and real-time quantitative PCR for HIF-1α mRNA expression.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the cells without CoCl(2) treatment, the cells with CoCl(2) exposure exhibited obvious morphological changes and a significant growth inhibition which increased with CoCl(2)concentration and exposure time. At low concentrations (50-200 µmol/L), CoCl(2) treatment caused a dose- and time-dependent enhancement of HIF-1α expression in HL-60 cells.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Hypoxia mimicked by CoCl(2) exposure significantly inhibits the proliferation of HL-60 cells, and at the non-toxic doses, CoCl(2) dose- and time-dependently increases the expression of HIF-1α. The mimicked hypoxic conditions do not cause differentiation of HL-60 cells.</p>

Effect of C5-siRNA silencing receptor C5 on myocardial ischemia injury in rats / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of C5-siRNA on pathological changes after myocardial ischemia in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham-operated group, ischemia group and C5-siRNA group. The cardiac ischemia models were established in ischemia group and C5-siRNA group by ligating the proximal end of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. The rats were infused with 100 microl/kg of C5-siRNA into myocardial tissue in C5-siRNA group and equal amount of normal saline in ischemia group and sham-operated group after ligating the LAD coronary artery for 30 min and then performed of ischemia for 4 hours. The cardiac index and left ventricular mass index were determined, morphological changes of myocardial tissue observed under optical microscope and the expression of C5 was detected by immunohistochemical staining and image analysis system.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were no statistically significant difference between the three groups in the left ventricular mass index and cardiac index in the rats after ischemia for 4 hours. Light microscopy indicated edema and degeneration of the myocardial tissue were milder in C5-siRNA group than in ischemia group, a small amount of red blood cells existed in the myocardial stroma of the former. The expression of C5 was increased more significantly in ischemia group and C5-siRNA group than in sham-operated group (P<0.001), but was decreased in C5-siRNA group more than in ischemia group with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.132).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>C5-siRNA could attenuate myocardial ischemia injury in rats by reducing inflammatory cell infiltration and expression of C5.</p>

Value of biochemical marker detection in risk stratification in patients with acute coronary syndrome / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the value of biochemical marker detection in risk stratification in hospitalized patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 264 consecutive patients (180 male and 84 female patients) admitted for complaint of chest tightness or/and pain were evaluated for a decision of coronary angiography (CAG) within 24 h after admission. The patients were divided into two groups to receive emergency or elective CAG. The venous blood samples were taken from the patient immediately after admission for detection of amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-pro-BNP), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), myeloperoxidase (MPO), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM-1), soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin 27 (IL-27) and creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) were detected.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No significant differences in NT-proBNP, hs-CRP, MPO, sCD40L, and MMP-9 were found between emergency CAG group and elective CAG group (P<0.05). Logistic regression identified significant differences in NT-proBNP, hs-CRP, MPO, IL-27 and CK-MB between the two groups, and a predictive model for risk stratification of ACS was established using these biomarkers. The ROC curves of this predictive model showed an area under the curve of 98.1, suggesting a high predictive value of this model in assessment of the changes or progression of ACS.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Combined detection of the biochemical markers can be helpful for risk stratification of the hospitalized patients with ACS early after admission.</p>

Evaluation of a rabbit model of abdominal aorta atherosclerosis / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the methods for non-invasive evaluation of a rabbit model of aorta atherosclerosis model.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixteen male New Zealand rabbits (n=16) were randomized into the experimental group and control group and fed with high-cholesterol diet and normal diet after balloon injury in the abdominal aorta, respectively. Eight weeks later, pathological examination, angiography and surface ultrasonography were carried out to evaluate the plaques in the aorta.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After feeding with high-cholesterol diet for 8 weeks, the weight, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) were significantly increased in the rabbits (P<0.001), and atherosclerosis in the abdominal aorta was directly observed using angiography and surface ultrasonography. The rate of vasoconstriction showed significant difference between the experimental group and control group (t=5.921, P=0.000). In the experimental rabbits, the vasoconstriction increased obviously after drug stimulation with high lumen eccentricity index. A significant positive correlation was noted between the lumen eccentricity index and the rate of vasoconstriction (r=0.983, P=0.000).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>A rabbit model of abdominal aorta atherosclerosis can be established rapidly by balloon injury and high-cholesterol diet. The aortic wall thickness, lumen diameter and lumen eccentricity index determined by surface ultrasonography can be used to evaluate the validity of the model establishment and the nature of the plaque.</p>

Influence of therapeutic effect of acupoint sticking at Shenque (CV 8) for treatment of stroke patients / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the therapeutic effect of acupoint sticking therapy for treatment of stroke.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Two hundred and forty-six cases were randomly divided into a non-acupoint sticking group (control group, n=122) and an acupoint sticking group (n=124). The control group was treated with routine ward treatment of stroke (acupuncture combined with routine western medicine). The acupoint sticking group was treated with basis ward treatment of stroke (similar to the control group), and acupoint sticking therapy was applicated on Shenque (CV 8). The scores of Stroke-Specific Quality of Life (SS-QOL) and WHOQOL-100BREF were adopted to evaluate the therapeutic effects and the cysteine of patients were tested before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were significant differences in scores comparison of SS-QOL and WHOQOL-100BREF before and after treatment in both groups (both P < 0.001); there was no significant difference after treatment between two groups (P > 0.05); there was a significant difference in thinking items of SS-QOL after treatment between two groups (P < 0.05), the acupoint sticking group was superior to that of control group; SS-QOL score of patients with abnormal cysteine of acupoint sticking group was superior to that of the control group after treatment, with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The acupoint sticking therapy can improve the thinking ability of stroke patients, and improve the life quality of high cysteine stroke patients.</p>

Expression of B7-related protein-1 on human coronary artery endothelial cells and its clinical significance / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) on the expression of B7-related protein-1 (B7RP-1) on human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>HCAECs were incubated in the presence of 100 mg/L ox-LDL for 24 h, and B7RP-1 expression levels were determined using fluorescence reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and Western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>B7RP-1 expression was detected HCAECs, with spots of fluorescence signals distributing on the cell membrane as observed under fluorescence microscope. RT-PCR with B7RP-1 specific primers yielded products of expected size (496 bp). Western blotting identified B7RP-1 expression in the HCAECs as a cell-associated protein with an apparent molecular mass of 70,000. Treatment of the cells with ox-LDL significantly increased B7RP-1 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>B7RP-1 is expressed on the membrane of HCAECs. ox-LDL can promote up-regulate the expression of B7RP-1, which might be one of the immunopathogenesis of atherosclerosis.</p>

Effect of Astragalus polysaccharides on the phenotype and functions of human dendritic cells in vitro / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the effect of astragalus polysaccharides (APS) in inducing phenotypic and functional changes of human dendritic cells (DCs) in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Human dendritic cells were induced from the peripheral blood monocytes in vitro by the application of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and GM-CSF, and cultured in the presence of APS at different concentrations (50, 100, and 200 mg/L). The morphological changes of the DCs were identified by optical microscope or scanning electron microscope. The phenotypic alterations of the cells were analyzed by flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The DCs cultured for 24 h in the presence of LPS and APS at 50 and 100 mg/L showed suspended growth in the culture medium and underwent morphological changes from spherical cells to irregular cells, with rough cell surface and cell processes of different morphologies. APS-treated DCs had the most typical dendritic structures and highly expressed the phenotypic markers of DCs (CD86 and HLA-DR), but with down-regulated CD14 expression as shown by flow cytometry.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Both APS and the cytokines can induce the maturation of DCs derived from peripheral blood monocytes.</p>

Classification and functional study of peripheral blood dendritic cells in patients with coronary artery disease with different atherosclerotic plaques / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the quantitative and functional changes of peripheral blood dendritic cells (DCs) and their subsets in the leukocyte population in patients with coronary artery disease (CHD) with different coronary artery plaques and explore the relation between DCs and coronary plaque development.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty CHD patients were divided into SAP (10 cases), UAP (10 cases) and ACS (10 cases) groups, with another 10 patients having negative result in coronary angiography as the control group. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was performed to identify the nature of the plaques. The percentage and absolute number of peripheral blood DCs and DC subsets were measured by flow cytometry. The functional status of the DCs was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the SAP group, IVUS found stable plaques in 8 cases and unstable plaques in 2 cases; in UAP group, 7 patients had unstable plaques, 2 had stable plaques, and 1 had plaque rupture. Plaque rupture, unstable plaques and stable plaques were found in 6, 3 and 1 patients in ACS group, respectively. In comparison with patients with stable plaques, those with unstable plaques had significantly increased percentages and number of DCs, mDCs and mDC1 (P<0.05), while the mDC2s and pDCs showed no obvious difference between them (P>0.05). The percentages and number of DCs, mDCs, mDC1s and pDCs were significantly decreased in patients with ruptured plaques (P<0.05). In peripheral blood monouclear cells cultured for 7 days, the CD83 expression was significantly higher in unstable and rupture plaque groups than in stable plaque group, and no significant difference was found between stable plaque group and the control group (P>0.05). In unstable and rupture plaque groups, co-culture with 2x10(5)/ml DCs evoked strong proliferation of the T cells in comparison with the stable plaque group, but no difference was found between the stable plaque and the control groups (P>0.05). Significantly higher levels of interleukin-2 and interferon-alpha were detected in the supernatant of the mixed lymphocyte reaction in unstable and ruptured plaque groups than in stable plaque and control groups, without obvious difference between the latter two groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The percentage and absolute number of peripheral blood DCs and their functional status suggest the alterations of the coronary artery plaques in CHD patients.</p>

Interleukin-1β inhibits collagen synthesis and promotes its decomposition in cultured cardiac fibroblasts / 生理学报

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) at different doses on collagen synthesis and decomposition in cultured cardiac fibroblasts from neonatal Sprague-Dawley rat. Cardiac fibroblasts were treated with IL-1β (0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 ng/mL) for 24 h. Cell DNA synthesis was measured by (3)H-thymidine ((3)H-TdR) incorporation and collagen synthesis was measured by (3)H-proline ((3)H-Pro) incorporation. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity was measured by gelatinase zymography. MMP-2, MMP-9 protein expressions were measured by Western blot. mRNA expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Compared with that in the control group, the incorporation of (3)H-TdR and (3)H-Pro decreased in high-dose IL-1β groups (≥0.1 ng/mL) but not in low-dose IL-1β group (0.01 ng/mL). IL-1β significantly increased MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities. IL-1β (0.01-100 ng/mL) also dose-dependently increased the protein and mRNA expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 (P<0.05, P<0.01), respectively. These results suggest that IL-1β decreases collagen synthesis and MMP activities through transcriptional and posttranslational processes via degrading collagen in a dose-dependent way. Elevation of IL-1β is possibly involved in the process of ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction, and the concentration of IL-1β is possibly a major factor which affects the extent of ventricular remodeling.

Relationship of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 gene polymorphisms and vulnerability to coronary heart disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the association of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene polymorphisms and coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This study involved 121 patients with T2DM and 94 with diabetic macroangiopathy. The polymorphisms of G8790A in ACE2 gene was analyzed using PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in these patients, and the clinical, biochemical and echocardiographic data were also analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No obvious difference was found in the genotyping data between the two groups. Among the male patients with diabetic macroangiopathy, the interventricular septal end-diastolic thickness (IVSTd) were significantly greater in patients of GG genotypes of ACE2 gene G8790A than in those of AA genotypes (P<0.01), and the left ventricular mass (LVMI) and urine protein were also significantly higher in GG genotypes (P<0.05). No similar results were found the uncomplicated diabetic group or the female diabetic patients with CAD.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The ACE2 gene G8790A polymorphism plays a role in the pathogenesis of CAD in patients with type 2 diabetes, suggesting that ACE2 genotyping is helpful to screen the susceptible patients.</p>

Effect of rosiglitazone on tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced nuclear factor-kappaB and coupling factor 6 expressions in human umbilical vein endothelial cells / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of rosiglitazone on the expression of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and coupling factor 6 (CF6) induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cultured HUVEC of passage 3-5 were stimulated with TNF-alpha and then cultured in the presence of rosiglitazone. The expression of CF6 and NF-kappaB subunit p65 were evaluated by immunocytochemistical method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Pretreatment of HUVECs with rosiglitazone inhibited TNF-alpha-induced expression of CF6 in a dose-dependent manner. The activation of CF6 stimulated by TNF-alpha was suppressed by ROS in a dose-dependent manner.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TNF-alpha-induced enhancement of the gene expression and release of CF6 is mediated by activation of NF-kappaB signaling pathway. ROS can inhibit the activation of IKK, block NF-kappaB signaling pathway and inhibit the expression of CF6, which may be the mechanism underlying the action of TZDs on hypertension.</p>

Chemical structural characterization of some components from essential oil of Rosa banksiae for estimation and prediction of their retention time / 中国中药杂志

The molecular electronegativity-distance vector (MEDV) was used to describe the chemical structural characterization of 46 components of essential oils in the flower of Rosa banksiae. Various multiple linear regression (MLR) models were created with variable screening by the stepwise multiple regression technique and statistics. The QSRR models of 10 and 6 variables were built by MLR with the correlation coefficients (R) of molecular modeling being 0.906 and 0.903. Cross-validation of the models, which contain selected vectors were performed by leave-one -out procedure (LOO) and the satisfied results with correlation coefficients (Rcv) of 0.904 and 0.903, respectively. The results showed that the models constructed can provide estimation stability and favorable predictive ability.

Changes of serum urea and creatinine concentrations in rats with lipopolysaccharide and heat co-exposure / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and heat co-exposure on serum urea and creatinine (Cr) concentrations in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Male Wistar rats were randomized into normothermic saline injection control group (group C), heat exposure saline injection group (group H), normothermic LPS injection group (group L), and heat exposure LPS injection group (group HL). The rats in groups H and HL were exposed to heat in a chamber at an dry bulb temperature (Tdb) of 35.0-/+0.5 degrees Celsius, and those in groups C and L were kept in a chamber at Tdb of 26-/+0.5 degrees Celsius. LPS (8 mg/kg) was injected via the tail vein in the rats in groups L and HL to induce endotoxemia, while those in groups C and H were given normal saline injection (8 ml/kg) via the tail vein. The serum levels of urea and Cr were determined at the time points of 0, 40, 80, and 120 min after the injections.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No significant difference was found in serum Cr level at any level of the main effects of time, drug, or Tdb (P>0.05), but serum urea level varied significantly between the different time points, different levels of Tdb, and the drug injections (P<0.01). Significant interactions were identified between the time after injection, injected agents, and Tdb (P<0.01). Except for those in the group C, all rats showed elevated serum urea levels 40 min after the injection, particularly those in group HL. The serum urea levels were positively correlated to the level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Co-exposure to LPS and heat in rats may elicit and worsen systemic inflammatory response syndrome and kidney injury.</p>

Efficacy and safety of implantation of multiple drug-eluting stents / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the efficacy and safety of implantation of multiple drug-eluting stents.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective study of 151 cases was conducted, including 34 with implantation of at least 3 drug-eluting stents in the coronary artery (MS group), 53 with implantation of two stents (TS group), and 64 with a single stent (OS group). The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) and restenosis was evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>No significant difference was found between the 3 groups in the incidence of MACE or in the stent thrombosis rate 30 days after the implantation. Follow-up of the patients for 6 months still showed comparable restenosis rate and MACE incidence between the 3 groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Implantation of multiple drug-eluting stents does not increase the risk of restenosis or MACE, and has comparable safety and efficacy with implantation of single and two stents.</p>

Association of dendritic cell distribution with intima hyperplasia in rats with diabetes mellitus / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the association of dendritic cell distribution in the peripheral blood, spleen and arterial wall with intimal hyperplasia in rats with diabetes mellitus.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Diabetes mellitus was induced in rats by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin and high-fat feeding for 8 weeks. Peripheral blood, arterial wall and the spleen were collected from the rats to prepare cell suspensions, in which the proportions of dendritic cells and T cells were determined by flow cytometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The tunica intimal hyperplasia was more obvious in diabetic rats with or without high-fat feeding as compared with that of the control rats (P<0.05), and their dendritic cells decreased significantly in the peripheral blood (P<0.05) but increased in the arterial wall. The percentage of T cells was also increased in the peripheral blood and arterial wall of the diabetic rats.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Changes in the distribution of dendritic cells and T cells are closely associated with intimal hyperplasia in diabetic rats, suggesting the involvement of dendritic cells and T cells in the formation of atherosclerosis.</p>

Effect of simvastatin on monocyte CX3CR1 expression in patients with acute coronary syndrome / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effect of simvastatin on expression of CX3CR1 in the monocytes in patients with acute coronary syndrome and investigate the non-lipid mechanisms of statins against atherosclerosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of CX3CR1 in the monocytes was measured by quantitative real-time RT-PCR in 63 patients with acute coronary syndrome confirmed by coronary arteriography after treatment with simvastatin at 10(-7) approximately 10(-5) mol/L for 4, 8 and 12 h, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>CX3CR1 expression in the monocytes treated with different concentrations of simvastatin was significantly lower than that in the control cells (P<0.05), and the expression in the cells treated with the agent for different time lengths was also significantly lower than that in the control cells (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Simvastatin can reduce CX3CR1 expression in the monocytes of the patients with acute coronary syndrome in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, so as to reduce the inflammation and stabilize the vascular plaques.</p>