The effect of empirical antifungal treatment on the diagnostic sensitivity of galactomannan in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients combined with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the effect of empirical antifungal treatment on the diagnostic sensitivity of galactomannan(GM)in bronchoalveolar lavage(BALF)in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)patients combined with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis(IPA).Methods:COPD patients with IPA were enrolled between January 2015 and January 2019 as research objects.Patients who were treated with antifungal drugs prior to bronchoscopy were considered as the empirical group, and other patients were considered as the diagnosis-driven group.The results of BALF GM were compared between the two groups.Results:A total of 66 COPD patients with IPA were enrolled in this study, with 5 cases confirmed and 61 cases clinically diagnosed.Of them, 17 cases were in the empirical group and 49 in the diagnosis-driven group.There was no significant difference in the sensitivity of blood GM and microbiological examination between the two groups( χ2=0.248 and 0.379, P=0.619 and 0.538). With BALF GM 0.5 as a cutoff value, the sensitivity of BALF GM was slightly lower in the empirical group than in the diagnosis-driven group but with no significant difference(88.2%, 95% CI: 62.3%-97.9% vs.93.9%, 95% CI: 82.1%-98.4%, χ2=0.051, P=0.821). However, with BALF GM 1.0 as a cutoff value, the sensitivity decreased greatly in the empirical group compared with the diagnosis-driven group(52.9%, 95% CI: 28.5%-76.1% vs.80.6%, 95% CI: 67.4%-90.8%, χ2=4.036, P=0.045). Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for mechanical ventilation( OR=0.807, 95% CI: 0.215-3.026, P=0.750)and use of semisynthetic penicillins( OR=0.498, 95% CI: 0.140-1.776, P=0.283), the false negative rate of BALF GM was associated with empirical antifungal therapy( OR=0.243, 95% CI: 0.068-0.949, P=0.030). Conclusions:Empirical antifungal therapy prior to bronchoscopy can decrease the diagnostic sensitivity of BALF GM in COPD patients with IPA.

Yi Guan Jian, a Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine, Alleviates Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Injury.

OBJECTIVE: To study the protective effect of Yi Guan Jian (YGJ) on liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in mice. METHODS: 50 ICR mice were randomly divided into 5 groups: control group, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) group, CCl4 + silymarin Group (200 mg/kg), carbon CCl4 + YGJ Group (11.5, 23 g/kg). Except the mice in the control group and the CCl4 group that were given the same volume of distilled water, the mice in other groups were given the drugs for seven days. 2 hours after the last administration, except the mice in the control group, the mice in other groups had intraperitoneal injection of 0.1% CCl4 vegetable oil solution (10 ml/kg). Mice in control group had intraperitoneal injection of the same volume of vegetable oil. After 18h, the blood and liver were collected. The liver of mice was stained with HE staining, the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminas (AST) in serum were detected, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), interleukin (IL-6, Il-1ß), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in serum and liver were detected, and the Western blot was used to detect the levels of MAPK/NF-κB pathway. RESULTS: YGJ significantly decreased the levels of ALT and AST. The contents of MDA, IL-6, Il-1ß, and TNF-α in serum and liver were significantly decreased and the contents of SOD in serum and liver were significantly decreased by YGJ, which significantly improved the pathological changes of liver tissue in mice. The levels of MAPK/NF-κB pathway were significantly decreased by YGJ. CONCLUSION: YGJ has protective effect on CCl4 induced liver injury in mice, which may be related to the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Ganoderic acid A against cyclophosphamide-induced hepatic toxicity in mice.

This study clarified the protective effect of ganoderic acid A (GAA) on cyclophosphamide (CP)-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. Hepatic injury mice were induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of CP (200 mg/kg). The results showed that the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum and liver of the CP group mice were increased, and the levels of cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α in serum were increased. With the increase of the thioredoxin interaction protein (Txnip)/Trx/NF-кB pathway, the histological structure of the liver has significantly changed as well as apoptosis events. On the contrary, the levels of ALT, AST, and cytokines in serum and liver in mice have been improved after GAA administration. Furthermore, the protein levels of the Txnip/Trx/NF-кB pathway and apoptosis-related protein including Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3, and -9 were restored by GAA. In conclusion, GAA can be used as an effective drug to improve the hepatotoxicity caused by CP.

Construction of eukaryotic expression vector of human antimicrobial peptide LL-37 / 临床检验杂志

Objective To construct eukaryotic expression vector of human antimicrobial peptide LL-37 pPIC9-LL-37, and transform the plasmid pPIC9-LL-37 into P.pastoris GS115 to obtain the recombinant P.pastoris strains.Methods The full-length of antimicsobial peptide LL-37 gene was artificially synthesized by overlap extension method and was fused to pPIC9 and then the fused plasmid was transformed into E.coli DH5?.After analysis by PCR and sequencing,the plasmid pPIC9-LL-37 was transformed into P.pastoris.The colonies exhibiting the phenotype of His+Mut+ or His+Mut-were screened by means of MM and MD plates and the insertion was confirmed by PCR.Results The results of PCR and sequencing confirmed that the LL-37 gene was correctly inserted into pPIC9. The colonies of 10 His+Mut+ and 9 His+Mut-were obtained by means of MM and MD plates screening and were confirmed by PCR.Conclsion The recombinant P.pastoris strains containing LL-37 were successfully obtained.