Incomplete Th2 skewing of cytokines in plasma of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Levels of cytokines, and in particular those that reflect Th1 or Th2 bias, were measured in the plasma of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Compared with plasma cytokine levels of age-matched controls, cytokine levels in HNSCC patients suggested a shift to a Th2 bias as levels of the Th2 cytokines interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-6, and IL-10 were increased, and levels of the Th1 cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were decreased. However, levels of the Th1 cytokines IL-2 and granulocyte macrophage–colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were increased, which is not consistent with full Th2 skewing. Assessment of cytokine levels in patients with malignancies other than HNSCC demonstrated many similarities to HNSCC patients, but HNSCC patients exhibited a more pronounced increase in GM-CSF levels and a decline in IFN-γ levels. For most cytokines there was no association between the shifts in cytokine levels in HNSCC patients and either the extent of tumor burden or extent of metastasis. However, patients with large HNSCC tended to be the population that demonstrated increased levels of IL-4 and IL-6. These results suggest skewing toward a Th2 bias in HNSCC patients, with the Th2 shift being incomplete and indicative of the presence, rather than the extent, of malignant disease.     

中西医结合治疗胎儿宫内发育迟缓

目的 探讨胎儿宫内发育迟缓(IUGR)的治疗方法。方法 分别采用硫酸镁加中药治疗胎儿宫内发育迟缓67例,硫酸镁治疗61例,利用彩色超声多普勒对其临床疗效进行观察。结果 硫酸镁加中药的有效率高于硫酸镁,其差异具有显著性意义(P<0.05)。结论 硫酸镁加中药是治疗IUGR的有效方法之一。     

Expression of flotillin-2 in human non-small cell lung cancer and its correlation with tumor progression and patient survival

Introduction: Recent studies have revealed that flotillin-2 (FLOT2) played important roles in cancer progression. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic and prognostic significance of FLOT2 expression in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect FLOT2 mRNA expression in lung cancer cell lines, normal bronchial epithelial cells, 24 pairs of NSCLC tissues and matched adjacent non-tumor tissues. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to examine FLOT2 protein expression in paraffin-embedded tissues from 90 NSCLC patients. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the clinicopathological significance of FLOT2 expression. Results: FLOT2 mRNA expression was evidently up-regulated in lung cancer cell lines and NSCLC tissues compared with normal bronchial epithelial cells and adjacent non-tumor tissues. In the 90 cases of tested NSCLC samples, FLOT2 protein level was positively correlated with tumor stage, and lymph node metastasis. Patients with high FLOT2 expression had shorter overall survival compared with the low FLOT2 expression group. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that high FLOT2 expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for NSCLC patients. Conclusions: Our findings provided that high FLOT2 expression was associated with poor outcomes in NSCLC patients, and FLOT2 could be a potential prognostic biomarker for lung cancer progression.     

中医药及微波热疗联合化疗治疗卵巢癌腹水的临床疗效

目的:探讨中医药及微波热疗联合化疗对卵巢癌腹水的临床疗效及安全性.方法:将80例卵巢癌腹水患者作为研究对象,随机分成对照组和治疗组,每组各40例.对照组单纯进行化疗,而治疗组在对照组的基础上联合中医药及微波热疗.结果:全部患者顺利完成治疗,治疗后在中医症候改善方面对照组总有效27例(67.5％),治疗组总有效36例(90％),两组差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);治疗后患者的腹围、体重都较治疗前减小,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);与对照组比较,治疗组腹围明显减小,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);治疗后两组的肿瘤标志物水平都有不同程度的下降,而治疗组CA125,HE4降低明显,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05).结论:中医药及微波热疗联合化疗对卵巢癌腹水的临床疗效明显,能够有效控制疾病的进展,并且毒副作用低,为治疗卵巢癌腹水提供一定的临床依据.     

The role of cytokines in the initiation,expansion, and control of cellular immunity to tuberculosis

Summary: Tuberculosis (TB) results from an interaction between a potent immune response and a chronically persistent pathogen. The ability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to induce a strong immune response while being able to resist the ability of the host to clear bacteria provides an excellent tool with which to investigate the role of specific cytokine pathways on the induction, expansion, and control of the effector T-cell response. In this review, the role of interleukin-12p40 (IL-12p40), IL-12p70, IL-23, and IL-27 in the immune response to Mtb are described. We show that IL-12(p40)₂ acts to mediate the activation of dendritic cells to become responsive to homeostatic chemokines. We also show that IL-12p70 is required for the optimal interferon-γ (IFN-γ) T-cell response, which is required for control of Mtb growth. IL-23 can induce IFN-γ responses in the lung if IL-12 is not present, but its major role is in supporting the IL-17 response within the lung. Neither IL-23 nor IL-17 is required for early control of Mtb in the lung. IL-23 and IL-17, however, can be instrumental in vaccine-induced protection. Finally, IL-27 limits protective immunity in the lung, but it is also required for long-term survival. These cytokines are therefore key players in the immune response to TB.     

Prevention and treatment of infectious diseases by traditional Chinese medicine: a commentary

The present review aimed to summarize the effectiveness and features of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of infectious diseases and to discuss the limitation of the development of TCM. The personalized medicine with TCM exerts a curative effect on viral and bacterial infectious diseases with unique advantages on the improvement of clinical manifestation, pathogen inhibition, and organ recovery during severe and drug‐resistant infection. The deficiency of personalized medicine with TCM lies in that the current research design of TCM primarily focuses on the study of the effective components and material basis of Chinese herbs at the cellular, molecular, and genetic level, while ignoring the guidance of the TCM syndrome differentiation theory, which is the core concept of individualized treatment. Personalized medicine with TCM has a broad prospective for infectious diseases due to the specific efficacy and advantages. While the curative effect of individualized treatment with TCM cannot be excluded from the TCM syndrome differentiation theory, the study of personalized medicine with TCM for infectious diseases urgently requires a unified standardization of the clinical syndrome differentiation and the evolution rule of infectious diseases by TCM theory.     

Dendritic cells as a pharmacological target of traditional Chinese medicine

Dendritic cells （DCs） represent a heterogeneous population of professional antigen-presenting cells （APCs） that play a central role in the initiation and regulation of immune responses. There is considerable evidence that DCs can be used as therapeutic targets for pharmacological modulation of immune responses. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a long-standing history of using herbal medicine in the treatment of variety of human diseases. Many of the clinical effects of TCM have reportedly been attributed to the up- or down-regulation of immune responses. Accumulating evidence indicates that TCM and its components can interfere with immune responses at the earliest stage by targeting key functions of DCs. Here, we review those published studies of TCM with respect to their effects on immunobiological functions of DCs. Investigations based on both chemical entities derived from TCM as well as TCM herbal mixtures are presented. These studies suggest that various TCM herbal medicines have the capacity to inhibit or promote major functions of DCs, such as differentiation, maturation, cytokine production, survival, antigen uptake and presentation as well as trafficking. These studies have revealed novel biological effects of TCM and documented the utility of this approach to discover novel biological modifier of DC functions derived from natural sources.     

八种中药多糖对小鼠巨噬细胞释放细胞因子的影响

常规提取黄芪、枸杞、当归、香菇、地黄、蒲公英、板蓝根、柴胡等8味中药的多糖组份,体外与小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞共同孵育,ELISA法检测培养液中TNF-α、IL-1β、IL-6、IL-8等细胞因子的含量,并与巨噬细胞对照组比较,借以观察黄芪等中药的多糖对巨噬细胞释放细胞因子的影响,探索巨噬细胞甘露糖受体在中药多糖免疫干预效应中的作用。结果表明,黄芪、枸杞、当归、香菇和蒲公英等5味中药多糖组份一定浓度组TNF-α、IL-1β、IL-6、IL-8中一个或多个细胞因子水平明显升高(P<0.05或P<0.01),且具有浓度差异性(P<0.05或P<0.01)。提示黄芪等5味中药多糖组分刺激巨噬细胞释放细胞因子是他们干预机体免疫功能的部分机制。     

中药抗突变实验研究

本文从1984年起分别以C57纯种小鼠的骨髓细胞和人外周血淋巴细胞为实验材料，用公认的诱变剂环磷酰胺(CPP)诱发的姐妹染色单体互换(SCE)，微核(MN)升高作指标，对大量中草药进行实验，已筛选出部分补气药或相关物以及各种人参的有效成分或单体具有抗突变作用。     

中药金安粉针剂对小鼠Lewis肺癌的抑制作用及其机制探讨

目的:探讨中药金安对C₅₇BL／6J小鼠Lewis肺癌的抑制效应及其作用机制。方法:荷Lewis肺癌的C₅₇BL／6J小鼠分为生理盐水组、金安高、中、低剂量组和环磷酰胺组,通过检测各组小鼠的体重变化和抑瘤率,应用流式细胞仪和TUNEL等方法观察金安对Lewis肺癌的抑瘤机制。结果:金安高、中、低剂量组体重均明显增加,且金安高、中、低剂量组与环磷酰胺组的抑瘤率依次为45.79%、40.90%、32.48%和98.96%,流式细胞仪检测金安诱导肿瘤细胞的凋亡率分别为24.19%、14.95%和13.93%,并经统计学分析发现金安诱导肿瘤细胞的凋亡率与剂量之间存在依赖关系。结论:金安对Lewis肺癌生长具有一定的抑制作用,促进肿瘤细胞凋亡可能是金安治疗Lewis肺癌的主要作用方式。     

大学生疲劳与中医体质的相关性研究

目的探讨中医体质与大学生疲劳发生的相关性。方法整群抽样抽取广州某大学6029名大学生,进行问卷调查了解疲劳状况及中医体质分型,进行卡方检验、多分类Logistic回归分析。结果疲劳发生情况为“总是”占3．3％（196）、“经常”占19．7％（1187）。男、女大学生发生疲劳的差异有统计学意义（X2=44．725,P=O．000）。多分类Logistic回归分析显示,“总是”发生疲劳时平和质为保护因素,气虚质、瘀血质及湿热质为危险因素;“经常”发生疲劳时平和质为保护因素,气虚质、瘀血质为危险因素;“有时”发生疲劳时只有平和质密切相关。为保护因素：“很少”发生疲劳时各体质对模型无贡献。结论气虚质、瘀血质和湿热质是大学生发生疲劳的危险因素,而平和质是保护因素。     

浅析中药注射液体外类过敏检测方法

随着中药注射液的广泛应用,对其严重不良反应之一类过敏反应的研究凸显出重大意义。本文就检测方法中细胞株、阳性药、检测指标及ELISA试剂盒等方面进行综述,旨在优化中药注射液体外类过敏的检测方法。     

三黄汤、茵栀黄联合西药治疗新生儿黄疸168例临床观察

目的探讨中药三黄汤、茵栀黄联合西药、蓝光照射等联合治疗新生儿黄疸的临床疗效。方法轻度:三黄汤加鲁米那、强的松口服治疗三天,中重度:茵栀黄加白蛋白、强的松、维生素、鲁米那、蓝光照射等。结果 31例轻度患儿给予三黄汤加鲁米那治疗后黄疸消退时间3-4天23例,5-6天8例,血清总胆红素平均6天降到正常值;137例中重症患儿,茵栀黄加白蛋白、强的松、维生素、鲁米那、蓝光照射后嗜睡、呕吐消失,二便正常,皮肤及巩膜黄染6-20天消退,血清总胆红素平均6-8天(105例)、8-10天(24例)、10-18天(8例)降到正常。结论早期发现并早期应用中药配合西药综合治疗新生儿黄疸,可以明显缩短病程并预防核黄疸发生。     

良性甲状腺结节的中西医研究进展

甲状腺结节是指各种原因导致甲状腺内出现一个或多个组织结构异常的团块,近年来发病率不断上升.目前西医治疗手段有甲状腺激素抑制治疗、放射性131I治疗、超声引导下经皮酒精注射及手术等.临床上虽有一定疗效但存在不良反应和风险.中医药在治疗甲状腺结节方面有着独特的优势,不仅疗效确切,而且安全简便.现通过查阅大量文献,就良性甲状腺结节的中西医研究进展进行综述.