Polysaccharide of Balanophora involucrata Hook. f. attenuates cell ferroptosis in rats with experimental liver injury through SLC7A11/GPX4 pathway / 药学学报

Polysaccharide of Balanophora involucrata Hook. f. (BPS), the major component of Balanophora involucrata Hook. f., was confirmed the protective effect on liver injury in our previous study. This research aimed to investigate the protective mechanism of BPS on experimental liver injury by attenuating cell ferroptosis through modulating solute carrier family 7 member 11/glutathione peroxidase 4 (SLC7A11/GPX4) pathway. The animal experiment was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethical Committee of Hubei Minzu University and all rats had received human care in compliance with the institutional animal care guidelines. Rats were given intraperitoneal injection of (D-galactosamine, D-GalN) solution (800 mg·kg-1) one time to establish the acute liver injury model. The results showed aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) levels in serum were decreased, and the contents of reactive oxygen species (ROS), Fe2+, malondialdehyde (MDA) and lipid peroxide (LPO) in liver tissues also decreased and glutathione (GSH) level increased after BPS administration with 200 mg·kg-1. Besides, BPS reduced iron deposition and increased the expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 proteins in liver tissue. In conclusion, BPS ameliorated experimental liver injury by alleviating cell ferroptosis through SLC7A11/GPX4 pathway. The present study pointed to the possibility of utilizing BPS for protection against liver injury in clinic.

Varieties systematization and standards status analysis of fermented Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

Fermented Chinese medicine has long been used. Amid the advance for preservation of experience, the connotation of fermented Chinese medicine has been enriched and improved. However, fermented Chinese medicine prescriptions generally contain a lot of medicinals. The fermentation process is complicated and the conventional fermentation conditions fail to be strictly controlled. In addition, the judgment of the fermentation end point is highly subjective. As a result, quality of fermented Chinese medicine is of great difference among regions and unstable. At the moment, the quality standards of fermented Chinese medicine are generally outdated and different among regions, with simple quality control methods and lacking objective safe fermentation-specific evaluation indictors. It is difficult to comprehensively evaluate and control the quality of fermented medicine. These problems have aroused concern in the industry and also affected the clinical application of fermented Chinese medicine. This article summarized and analyzed the application, quality standards, and the modernization of fermentation technology and quality control methods of fermented Chinese medicine and proposed suggestions for improving the quality standards of the medicine, with a view to improving the overall quality of it.

Developing anautomatic scale to delirium detection based on the electronic medical record system / 医学研究生学报

ObjectiveAt present, there are many bedside tools for delirium, but these manual tools are time-consuming and poor feasible. The aim of this study was to establish a delirium screening scale, automatically extracting keywords from electronic medical records (EMR).MethodsWe selected electronic medical records of 779 elderly hospitalized patients in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from 2015 to 2017. Then, R software was used to automatically extract keywords to form a database undercritical ration, correlation coefficient and different analysis methods. Finally, the Delphi method and Analytic Hierarchy Process Weight were carried out to the construct weight coefficient, so as to form the formal scale.ResultsIn the study, we developed a formal scale consisting of 59 items and 11 dimensions. The score of the scale ranged from 0 to 53.4, with a mean value of 6.64, skewness of 2.6 and kurtosis of 8.2.ConclusionThe delirium screening scale based on the EMR can improve the recognition rate of delirium through intelligent and automatic warning, so as to early diagnosis and timely intervention of delirium.

A clinical study on the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia with pulsed radiofrequency of the dorsal root ganglion with pain management

@#This study aimed to investigate the clinical efficacy of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) with pain management as treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). A total of 78 patients with PHN in the thoracolumbar region were randomly divided into two groups (n = 39 for each group): Group A, oral drug treatment only; Group B, DRG PRF of the thoracic spinal nerve combined with oral drug treatment. The numerical rating scale (NRS) scores of both groups were observed before treatment and at 1, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after treatment. The results showed that the NRS scores of both groups were significantly decreased after treatment (P < 0.05). In addition, the NRS score in Group B decreased significantly more than in Group A (P < 0.05). In conclusion, DRG PRF with pain management is a safe and effective treatment for elderly PHN patients, and it can quickly alleviate pain symptoms.

Hyperbaric oxygen improves functional recovery of rats after spinal cord injury via activating stromal cell-derived factor-1/CXC chemokine receptor 4 axis and promoting brain-derived neurothrophic factor expression / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a worldwide medical concern. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the protective effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) against SCI-induced neurologic defects in rats via exploring the stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1)/CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) axis and expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).@*METHODS@#An acute SCI rat model was established in Sprague-Dawley rats using the Allen method. Sixty rats were divided into four groups (n = 15 in each group): sham-operated, SCI, SCI treated with HBO (SCI + HBO), and SCI treated with both HBO and AMD3100 (an antagonist of CXCR4; SCI + HBO + AMD) groups. The rats were treated with HBO twice a day for 3 days and thereafter once a day after the surgery for up to 28 days. Following the surgery, neurologic assessments were performed with the Basso-Bettie-Bresnahan (BBB) scoring system on postoperative day (POD) 7, 14, 21, and 28. Spinal cord tissues were harvested to assess the expression of SDF-1, CXCR4, and BDNF at mRNA and protein levels, using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot analysis, and histopathologic analysis.@*RESULTS@#HBO treatment recovered SCI-induced descent of BBB scores on POD 14, (1.25 ± 0.75 vs. 1.03 ± 0.66, P < 0.05), 21 (5.27 ± 0.89 vs. 2.56 ± 1.24, P < 0.05), and 28 (11.35 ± 0.56 vs. 4.23 ± 1.20, P < 0.05) compared with the SCI group. Significant differences were found in the mRNA levels of SDF-1 (mRNA: day 21, SCI + HBO vs. SCI + HBO + AMD, 2.89 ± 1.60 vs. 1.56 ± 0.98, P < 0.05), CXCR4 (mRNA: day 7, SCI + HBO vs. SCI, 2.99 ± 1.60 vs.1.31 ± 0.98, P < 0.05; day 14, SCI + HBO vs. SCI + HBO + AMD, 4.18 ± 1.60 vs. 0.80 ± 0.34, P < 0.05; day 21, SCI + HBO vs. SCI, 2.10 ± 1.01 vs.1.15 ± 0.03, P < 0.05), and BDNF (mRNA: day 7, SCI + HBO vs. SCI, 3.04 ± 0.41 vs. 2.75 ± 0.31, P < 0.05; day 14, SCI + HBO vs. SCI, 3.88 ± 1.59 vs. 1.11 ± 0.40, P < 0.05), indicating the involvement of SDF-1/CXCR4 axis in the protective effect of HBO.@*CONCLUSIONS@#HBO might promote the recovery of neurologic function after SCI in rats via activating the SDF-1/CXCR4 axis and promoting BDNF expression.

Investigation on the relationship between the measured dose vs. the displayed dose in CT examinations for children / 中国医学装备

Objective: To establish the relationship between the measured dose and the displayed dose in CT scans for children, and assess whether the displayed dose could be used as the basis to monitor the actual dose so as to provide data support for establishing a fast estimation method of actual dose in CT examination for children. Methods: The CT equipments with 16 slices detectors and 64 slices detectors of two manufacturers that often were used in clinical practice were selected in the research. CT dosage phantom that suited to children was used and pencil-ionization chamber was adopted to measure CT dose indexes of head scan and breast scan for children under various scan parameters. At the same time, displayed dose of the equipment was recorded and the ratio of measured dose and displayed dose was calculated . Results: The measured doses of the two manufacturers for head of children were 1.30-1.39 times and 1.17-1.26 times of displayed dose, respectively. And on thorax sequence, the measured doses were 1.95-2.27 times and 1.75-1.97 times of displayed dose, respectively. Based on above results, the measured dose of head was more close to the displayed dose than that of thorax sequence. Conclusion: In the CT examination of children, the ratio of measured dose to displayed dose shows good consistency under the different exposure conditions of same CT device model, and thus provides possibility to rapidly estimate the real dose on children according to the displayed dose in CT examinations.

Effect of Porogen Solubility Parameter on Structure of Chromatographic Supports with Large Pores / 分析化学

The macroporous microspheres were prepared through suspension polymerization and based on a copolymer of glycidyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate.The effect of porogen on the microspheres structure was evaluated in terms of pore size and surface area.Porogen contained dichloromethane (δ=9.7 (cal/cm3)1/2) and N-octanol (δ=10.3 (cal/cm3)1/2) which corresponded to a good and poor solvent,respectively.The solubility parameter of porogen was controlled in the range of 9.89-10.09 (cal/cm3)1/2.The pore size of microspheres increased with the difference value of solubility parameter between the polymer and the porogen.On the contrary,the surface area of microspheres decreased in this study.The anion exchange media was prepared through coupling poly(ethylene imine) in the microspheres,and the proteins transport was determined by frontal analysis method.The macroporous microspheres with 257 nm pore size could still afford a high proteins capacity (45.1 mg/mL).These macroporous supports showed a large potential in a rapid separation of proteins.

Reinforcing effect of calcium sulfate cement bovine bone morphogenetic protein on vertebral in the rabbit model of osteoporosis

OBJECTIVE@#To observe reinforcing effect of calcium sulfate cement (CSC) bovine bone morphogenetic protein (bBMP) on vertebral in the rabbit model of osteoporosis.@*METHODS@#A total of 48 New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into group I (blank control group), group II (CSC injection group), group III (CSC/bBMP injection group) and control group. White rabbit osteoporosis model was established rapidly by using castration method+methylprednisolone candidate. After modeling, groups II, III were given corresponding vertebral body injection material, and 4 animals were sacrificed respectively at 24 h, 6 weeks, 12 weeks after vertebral plasty. Tissue pathological status, vertebral mineral density and vertebral body bone mechanical strength were observed.@*RESULTS@#Vertebral body structure form was normal in the groups II and III. Trabecular bone coarsens, connection and repair were observed in micro fracture and bone defects, bone trabecular connectivity was superior to group I significantly; vertebral body compression strength in the group I was on the decline, vertebral compression strength in the groups II and III was on the rise, the largest vertebra. Postoperative BMC and BMD in groups II and III were increased, and significantly higher than group I after 6 weeks (P<0.05), BMC and BMD in group III after 12 weeks were higher than the other three groups.@*CONCLUSION@#Compound bBMP CSC has good bone induction. It can improve the three-dimensional construction effect for osteoporosis vertebral trabecula, and can significantly improve the vertebral strength, as a vertebral packing material with good application prospect.

Assessment of healthy related quality of life in patients with HBV induced liver cirrhosis / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess healthy related quality of life in patients with HBV induced liver cirrhosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 103 cases of patients with HBV induced liver cirrhosis were recruited from shenzhen Third People's Hospital during January 2009 to January 2012. The health related quality of life were assess using the most commonly used SF-36 scale questionnaire in all 103 patiemts. Sixty patients were further chosen for health related quality assessment using qualitive research method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The quality of life of chronic hepatitis B patients with cirrhosis Child classification, four score of each group general health, vitality, social functioning, mental health was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Depth interviews found that the disease affects the psychological burden of the social needs of the three major affect quality of life factors.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Qualitative research with the SF-36 scale associated to a better understanding of the needs of life of patients with chronic hepatitis B cirrhosis, provide a reference for subsequent targeted medical services.</p>

Protective antitumor immunity induced by tumor cell lysates conjugated with diphtheria toxin and adjuvant epitope in mouse breast tumor models / 癌症

Cancer cell vaccine-based immunotherapy has received increasing interest in many clinical trials involving patients with breast cancer. Combining with appropriate adjuvants can enhance the weak immunogenic properties of tumor cell lysates (TCL). In this study, diphtheria toxin (DT) and two tandem repeats of mycobacterial heat shock protein 70 (mHSP70) fragment 407-426 (M2) were conjugated to TCL with glutaraldehyde, and the constructed cancer cell vaccine was named DT-TCL-M2. Subcutaneous injection of DT-TCL-M2 in mice effectively elicited tumor-specific polyclonal immune responses, including humoral and cellular immune responses. High levels of antibodies against TCL were detected in the serum of immunized mice with ELISA and verified with Western blot analyses. The splenocytes from immunized mice showed potent cytotoxicity on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells. Moreover, the protective antitumor immunity induced by DT-TCL-M2 inhibited tumor growth in a mouse breast tumor model. DT-TCL-M2 also attenuated tumor-induced angiogenesis and slowed tumor growth in a mouse intradermal tumor model. These findings demonstrate that TCL conjugated with appropriate adjuvants induced effective antitumor immunity in vivo. Improvements in potency could further make cancer cell vaccines a useful and safe method for preventing cancer recurrence after resection.

Estrogen receptor alpha variant ERalpha46 mediates growth inhibition and apoptosis of human HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cells in the presence of 17beta-oestradiol / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Estrogen is involved in suppression of colon cancer development and exerts its function via estrogen receptors alpha and beta (ERalpha, ERbeta). The recently identified ERalpha46 resulted from exon 1-deletion from the 66-kDa full length form of ERalpha66 is devoid of the transactivation domain AF-1, whose function remains largely unknown.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>In this study, we compared the expression of ERalpha46 mRNA in 32 normal colorectal tissues and their matched colorectal cancer tissues by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Human colon adenocarcinoma cell HT-29, that has low endogenous expression of ERalpha46, was transfected with ERalpha46-expression vector; methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay, flow cytometry, DNA fragmentation and TUNEL staining were used to evaluate the proliferation and apoptosis status of the cells in the presence of 17beta-oestradiol.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Higher ERalpha46 mRNA levels were observed in normal colorectal tissues than in the corresponding cancer tissues. ERalpha46-transfected cells showed a significantly decreased growth rate than control cells and an accumulation of cells in the G(0/1) phase and a reduced proportion of cells in G(2)/M phase after exposed to 10(-8) mol/L 17beta-oestradiol. There were also more positive TUNEL stained cells in ERalpha46-transfected cells than the control cells in the presence of 17beta-oestradiol (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>These data suggest that ERalpha46 may be involved in the development and/or progression of colorectal cancer via mediating growth inhibition and apoptosis of cancer cells in the presence of 17beta-oestradiol.</p>

Expression of recombinant human BMP6 in CHO cells by fused to the signal peptide and propeptide of another homologue protein / 生物工程学报

BMP6 is a member of TGF-beta superfamily, represent more effective osteogenic activity. Two recombinant plasmids were constructed to expression rhBMP6 in mammalian cells, one contained the cDNA encoding the signal peptide, propeptide and mature peptide of human BMP6, wich was named pcDNA-BMP6, the other contained the recombinant DNA encoding the signal peptide, propeptide of human BMP2 and the mature peptide of BMP6, which was named pcDNA-BMP2/6. Transient expression in Cos7 cells demonstrated that the pcDNA-BMP2/6 produced more rhBMP6 than pcDNA-BMP6. For stable expression, the CHO-dhfr- cells were transfected with pcDNA-BMP2/6 and pSV2-dhfr, then screened by G418 and treated with MTX for targeting gene amplification. The partially purified rhBMP6 by heparin affinity chromatography was shown to possess bone induction activity tested by the induction of alkaline phosphatase activity in C2C12 cells.

Genetic polymorphisms of short tandem repeats loci F13A01, FESFPS, vWA from Han population in Guizhou / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To understand the allele structure and genetic polymorphism at F13A01, FESFPS and vWA short tandem repeats (STRs) loci for Han population in Guizhou province of China, and to construct a preliminary database.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred sixty unrelated individuals in Han population from Guizhou were analyzed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. The resultant allele frequencies were compared with those of other population or race database.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The genotype distributions of F13A01, FESFPS and vWA were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The combined discrimination power and polymorphism information content were 0.9984 and 0.9700 respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>All of the three loci in this study provide useful markers for forensic paternity test and for genetic purposes.</p>