Association study of TLR-9 polymorphisms and systemic lupus erythematosus in northern Chinese Han population.

BACKGROUND: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease, with multiple genetic and environmental factors involving in its etiology. The toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) gene has been reported to have important roles in the development and progression of SLE. We performed a case-control study to investigate the effects of 4 SNPs in the TLR9 gene in the development of SLE in Northern Chinese population. METHODS: Four SNPs including rs187084, rs5743836, rs352139 and rs352140 were genotyped using the SNaPshot® method. A group of 430 SLE patients were compared to 424 normal controls. Data were analyzed by SPSS 17.0 and HaploView v 4.1 software. RESULTS: The frequency distributions of SNP rs351240 and haplotype H2 (TGCT) and H3 (CATT) were found to differ significantly between patient and control groups (p<0.05), while other SNPs and haplotypes showed no significant difference between the two cohorts (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The results revealed that variations in the TLR9 gene are associated with SLE, indicating that TLR9 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE in the northern Chinese Han population.

[Clinical observation on effect of xuefu zhuyu decoction in treating patients with liver fibrosis caused by chronic hepatitis B].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Xuefu Zhuyu decoction (XZD) on the chronic hepatitis B caused liver fibrosis (CHBLF) and the portal hemodynamics. METHODS: Sixty patients with CHBLF were randomly divided into two groups, the 28 patients in the treated group were treated with oral intake of XZD and conventional liver protective treatment, the 32 patients in the control group were treated with conventional liver protective treatment alone, the therapeutic course for both groups was 3 months. Serum liver fibrosis criteria and portal dynamical criteria were observed before and after treatment. RESULTS: Comparison of the remarkable effective rate between the two groups showed significant difference. After treatment, in the treated group, all the serum criteria for liver fibrosis (HA, PCIII, LN) and criteria for portal trunk hemodynamics, such as mean velocity and quantity of blood flow were significantly improved (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), as compared with those in the control group, the difference was also significant (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: XZD has definite therapeutic effect on chronic hepatitis B caused liver fibrosis.