Effects of Bushen Jiedu Recipe and Jianpi Jiedu Recipe containing plasma on dendritic cells of chronic hepatitis B virus infection patients under different immune states / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the effects of Bushen Jiedu Recipe (BJR) and Jianpi Jiedu Recipe (JJR) containing plasma on dendritic cells (DCs) of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection patients under different immune states.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Recruited were 36 chronic HBV infection outpatients from First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from April 2010 to January 2011. They were assigned to the immune tolerance group (18 cases) and the immune clearance group (18 cases).Another 10 healthy subjects were recruited as the healthy control group. Their anticoagulated peripheral venous blood was respectively collected. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated and further extracted for incubating DCs. The DCs were intervened by BJR and JJR containing plasma. The morphology of DCs was identified. The expressions of CD1alpha, CD80, CD86, and HLA-DR were detected. The level of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) in the supernatant was observed by ELISA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The CD80 expression level was lower in the immune clear group than in the healthy control group before intervention (P < 0.05). The expression levels of CD80, CD86, and HLA-DR were lower in the immune tolerance group than in the healthy control group before intervention (P < 0.05).The IFN-alpha expression level was lower in the immune tolerance group and the immune clearance group than in the healthy control group before intervention (P < 0.05). The expression levels of CD80, HLA-DR, and IFN-alpha were lower in the immune tolerance group than in the immune clearance group before intervention (P < 0.05). Compared with the same group before intervention, the CD80 expression significantly increased in each treatment group (P < 0.05). After intervention the expression levels of CD80 and HLA-DR were higher in the immune tolerance group than in the immune clearance group in the same time phase, and the CD86 expression level was higher in the BJR group than in the immune clearance group in the same time phase, showing statistical difference (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The middle dose BJR and the small dose JJR both could promote the recovery of DCs in chronic HBV infection patients. Besides, BJR showed more prominent effects on the function of DCs in chronic HBV infection patients in the immune tolerance stage.</p>

Unsedated transnasal upper gastrointestinal endoscopy has favorable diagnostic effectiveness, cardiopulmonary safety, and patient satisfaction compared with conventional or sedated endoscopy.

BACKGROUND: To assess the diagnostic effectiveness, cardiopulmonary safety, and patient comfort of transnasal endoscopy (TNE), compared with conventional endoscopy (CES) and sedated endoscopy (SES), and to compare procedural risks and patient satisfaction/preference. METHODS: In this prospective, randomized, and controlled protocol, eligible patients (n = 397) in an outpatient clinic were randomized to CES (n = 133), SES (n = 134), or unsedated TNE (n = 130) due to upper gastrointestinal (GI) complaints. Patients were continuously monitored for systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), pulse rate (PR), and SpO(2) throughout the endoscopy. All subjects (n = 392) completing their assigned endoscopy were asked to evaluate endoscopy satisfaction, pain, and nausea/vomiting on visual analog scales. Patient preference for the assigned endoscopy was assessed against previous endoscopy experience or by willingness to repeat the assigned endoscopy. RESULTS: Endoscopic outcomes for the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum were comparable among the three groups. SBP/DBP and PR were more stable in patients undergoing TNE than in those undergoing CES or SES, while SpO(2) remained stable and above 95% among all three groups. Patients were more satisfied with TNE than with CES and experienced less pain and nausea/vomiting. Patients exhibited a high preference for SES, whereas 67.6% of patients who previously underwent SES and were randomly assigned to TNE were willing to undergo TNE again. CONCLUSIONS: TNE has comparable diagnostic effectiveness to CES and SES, but is less stressful on cardiopulmonary function, indicating that TNE is a more comfortable, preferred, and cost-effective endoscopic technique than CES and SES.

A comparison between L-4F and SC-4F in preventing low density lipoprotein induced endothelial cell dysfunction in cell culture / 中华心血管病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the importance of the specific structure of L-4F, an apolipoprotein A-1 mimetic, in inhibiting atherosclerosis. The study was designed to compare the effect of L-4F and scramble-4F (SC-4F) in preventing low density lipoprotein (LDL) induced endothelial cell dysfunction. L-4F and SC-4F has the same amino acids but different nucleotide sequence.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) were incubated with single L-4F 10 microg/ml or SC-4F 10 microg/ml, or LDL 6.2 mmol/L in the absence or presence of L-4F 10 microg/ml or SC-4F 10 microg/ml for 24 h and assayed for (1) changes of superoxide anion (O2-*) generation in BAEC by superoxide dismutase (SOD)-inhibitable ferricytochrome C reduction, and (2) the production of nitric oxide (NO) in BAEC by ozone chemiluminescence with VCL3.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>(1) L-4F and SC-4F themselves had no affect on BAEC O2-* generation. (2) LDL significantly increased O2-* generation in BAEC and LDL-induced O2-* generation was inhibited by pretreatment of LDL with L-4F. However, pretreatment of LDL with SC-4F had no effect on inhibition of LDL-induced O2-* generation. (3) LDL significantly inhibited NO generation in BAEC and pretreatment of LDL with L-4F could inhibit LDL-induced decrease of NO generation, but pretreatment of LDL with SC-4F still inhibited NO generation in BAEC.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>L-4F can prevent LDL induced endothelial cell dysfunction by maintaining the balance of NO and O2-*, but SC-4F doesn't. It suggests that the specific structure of L-4F may play a crucial role in preventing atherosclerosis and it may provide a new clue for searching a novel approach on prevention and therapeutics of atherosclerosis in the future.</p>