Dickkopf-1 perpetuated synovial fibroblast activation and synovial angiogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis

Clinical Rheumatology - Dickkopf-1 (Dkk-1), a regulatory molecule of the Wnt pathway, is elevated and leads to bone resorption in patients with RA. This study is aimed to investigate the...     

The clinical and laboratory features associated with cancer in patients with primary biliary cholangitis: a longitudinal survey–based study

Clinical Rheumatology - To analyze the clinical and laboratory features of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) patients complicated with cancer, and explore the potential factors associated with...     

Effect of probiotics on length of hospitalization in mild acute pancreatitis: A randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled trial

BACKGROUND Acute pancreatitis is the leading cause of hospitalization for acute gastrointestinal disease worldwide.The effects of probiotics in mild acute pancreatitis have not been studied.We hypothesized that the administration of probiotics may accelerate the recovery of intestinal function and shorten the length of hospital stay(LOS)in patients with mild pancreatitis.AIM To investigate the value of probiotics in reducing the LOS in patients with mild acute pancreatitis.METHODS We conducted a double-blind randomized clinical trial to evaluate the effects of probiotics administered to patients with mild acute pancreatitis at a tertiary medical center.The patients were given probiotics capsules(a mixed preparation of Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecium)or placebo.The primary study endpoint was the LOS.The secondary endpoints included time to abdominal pain relief,recurrent abdominal pain,and time to successful oral feeding.RESULTS A total of 128 patients were included,with 64 patients in each arm.The severity of illness and the etiological distribution of disease were similar in the two groups.There was a significant reduction in the LOS in the probiotics treatment group vs the placebo group(5.36±0.15 vs 6.02±0.17 d,P<0.05).The probiotics group was associated with a shorter time to abdominal pain relief and time to successful oral feeding(P<0.01 for both)than the placebo group.No statistical difference was found in recurrent abdominal pain between the two groups.CONCLUSION The study results showed that the administration of probiotics capsules is associated with a shorter duration of hospitalization in patients with mild acute pancreatitis.     

Hepatitis B virus precore protein augments genetic immunizations of the truncated hepatitis C virus core in BALB/c mice

DNA immunization has been used to induce either humoral or cellular immune responses against many antigens, including hepatitis C virus (HCV). In addition, DNA immunizations can be enhanced or modulated at the nucleotide level. Genetic immunizations were examined in BALB/c mice through the use of plasmids and chimeric DNA constructs encoding HCV core proteins and hepatitis B virus (HBV) precore (preC) regions. Plasmids encoding the truncated HCV core induced potent humoral and cellular responses to HCV; pcDNA3.0A-C154 produced a stronger antibody response than pcDNA3.0A-C191 (P < 0.01) and pcDNA3.0A-C69 (P < 0.05). HBV preC enhanced the humoral and cellular immune responses of BALB/c mice to HCV; however, pcDNA3.0A-C69preC resulted in a weak cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response. In addition, the humoral and cellular immune responses to HCV of groups immunized with pcDNA3.0A-C154preC and pcDNA3.0A-C191preC plasmids were higher than those of groups immunized with pcDNA3.0A-C154 and pcDNA3.0A-C191. In vivo CTL responses verified that mice immunized with preC core fused DNAs showed significantly high specific lysis compared with mice immunized with HCV cores only (P < 0.01). In our study, pcDNA3.0A-C154preC led to the highest immune response among all DNA constructs. Conclusion: DNA that encodes truncated HCV core proteins may lead to increased immune responses in vivo, and these responses may be enhanced by HBV preC.     

Profiling of differentially expressed chemotactic-related genes in MCP-1 treated macrophage cell line using human cDNA arrays

AIM: To study the global gene expression of chemotactic genes in macrophage line U937 treated with human monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) through the use of ExpreeChipTMO2 cDNA array. METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from MCP-1 treated macrophage line U937 and normal U937 cells, reversely transcribed to cDNA, and then screened in parallel with HO2 human cDNA array chip. The scanned result was additionally validated using RT-PCR. RESULTS: The result of cDNA array showed that one chemotactic-related gene was up-regulated more than two-fold (RANTES) and seven chemotactic-related genes were down-regulated more than two-fold (CCR1, CCR5, ccll6, GROβ, GROγ,IL-8 and granulocyte chemotactic protein 2) in MCP-1 treated U937 cells at mRNA level. RT-PCR analysis of four of these differentially expressed genes gave results consistent with cDNA array findings. CONCLUSION: MCP-1 could influence some chemokine and receptor expressions in macrophages in vitro. MCP-1 mainly down-regulates the expression of chemotactic genes influencing neutrophilic granulocyte expression (GROβ, GROγ, IL-8 and granulocyte chemotactic protein 2), and the mRNA level of CCR5, which plays a critical role in many disorders and illnesses.     

乳腺导管原位癌伴微浸润与导管原位癌的临床病理及X线表现对比分析

目的对比分析乳腺导管原位癌伴微浸润(DCISM)与导管原位癌(DCIS)的X线及临床病理表现及DCISM的预测因子。方法收集2016年1月至2020年7月在青岛大学附属医院经手术病理证实的DCISM及DCIS患者626例,患者术前均接受乳腺X摄影检查。参照乳腺影像报告和数据系统(BI-RADS)标准对DCISM与DCIS患者X线表现进行分类诊断。采用χ²检验或Fisher确切概率法分析DCISM与DCIS患者临床病理及X线表现的差异性,应用单因素和多因素二元logistic回归分析探讨与DCISM相关的危险因素。结果626例患者中,DCISM患者171例,DCIS患者455例。单因素回归分析表明,肿瘤直径≥2.7cm、高核级别、粉刺性坏死、淋巴结阳性、Ki67高表达、雌激素受体及孕激素受体阴性是DCISM的预测因子(P<0.05)。多因素回归分析显示,肿瘤直径≥2.7cm(OR 2.229,95%CI 1.505~3.301,P<0.001)、高核级别(OR 1.711,95%CI 1.018~2.875,P=0.043)、淋巴结阳性(OR 4.140,95%CI 1.342~12.773,P=0.013)是DCISM的独立预测因子(P<0.05)。乳腺X线摄影中,DCIS与DCISM患者的病变类型、有无钙化及钙化分布差异具有统计学意义(χ²分别为17.42、9.65、9.10,P<0.05),17.6%(80/455)的DCIS患者表现为隐匿性病变,49.1%(84/171)的DCISM表现为钙化伴肿块、非对称致密、结构扭曲。团簇状钙化多见于DCIS(41.5%,120/289),而区域性钙化在DCISM中更普遍(35.9%,47/131)。结论乳腺X线摄影表现为钙化性病变及区域性钙化在DCISM中更常见。肿瘤直径≥2.7cm、高核级别、淋巴结阳性是DCISM的独立预测因子。     

消化性溃疡病证关系探讨

本文通过对消化性溃疡病理因素、溃疡大小、部位，分期、有无活动性炎症等与溃疡病表现证型的关系探讨，以及证型与证微观定量指标的关系探讨，指出同一种溃疡病之所以表现为不同证型，关键可能在于内环境状态的差异，肝胃不和证、脾气虚证、肝郁脾虚证内环境状态的差别，或许是其不同临床表现的内在根源。     

钙蛋白酶参与心力衰竭患者心肌重构的信号传导

目的 探讨钙敏感的信号物质钙蛋白酶(calpain)对心力衰竭(心衰)患心肌重构信号传导的调控。方法选择因二尖瓣狭窄伴关闭不全心脏病接受二尖瓣置换术的心衰患39例,正常对照38例(其中8例来自意外伤亡的器官捐献)。彩色多普勒超声心动图检测心功能参数,放免法检测心衰患血浆及心肌组织血管紧张素Ⅱ含量,免疫印迹法检测心肌组织calpain、钙调神经磷酸酶(CaN)的抑制蛋白(cain/cabin 1),cain／cabin 1降解产物(cain／cabin 1△)蛋白表达、CaN磷酸化。结果心衰患血浆及心肌组织血管紧张素Ⅱ浓度、心肌组织u-calpain、m-calpain、cain／cabin 1降解产物cain／cabin 1△蛋白表达及CaN磷酸化明显高于对照组,且随心功能恶化逐渐增加,cain／cabin 1蛋白表达随心功能恶化逐渐降低。结论心衰患通过calpain降解cain／cabin 1进而激活CaN信号通路,提示其在肾素一血管紧张素系统等介导的心肌重构中起一定作用。     

中国脑型疟患者恶性疟原虫分离株裂殖子表面蛋白MSP1 第16- 17 区基因和MSP2 基因的分子克隆与鉴定

目的: 为设计研制安全有效的人脑型疟疫苗提供理论依据。方法: 根据MAD20 株裂殖子表面蛋白1 (MSP1) 和FC27 株裂殖子表面蛋白2 (MSP2) 基因编码区高度保守碱基设计并合成两对引物, 应用多聚酶链反应(PCR) 技术对5 例脑型疟患者恶性疟原虫云南省勐腊县勐罕分离株CMH/YN 和云南省盈江县农场CYJ/YN 分离株基因组DNA MSP1 第13- 17 区基因和MSP2 基因进行扩增, 并将扩增产物分别经EcoRI 和KpnI, BamHI 和HindIII 双酶切后, 分子定向克隆M13mp18 和M13mp19 载体, 转染大肠杆菌(E. coli) TG1, 从含X-gal 和IPTG 的LB平板上, 将随机筛选得到的单个无色噬菌斑经E. coli JM 103 扩增, 用碱裂解法抽提重组子复制型DNA (RFDNA ) 后, 再分别经EcoRI 和KpnI, BamHI 和HindIII 双酶切鉴定。结果: 证实重组子为编码脑型疟患者恶性疟原虫CMH/YN 和CYJ/YN 分离株MSP1 第16- 17 区基因和MSP2 基因分子克隆M13 载体。结论: 首次报道确证脑型疟患者恶性疟原虫CMH/YN 和CYJ/YN 分离株MSP1 第16- 17 区基因和MSP2 基因分别与MAD20 株MSP1 和FC27 株MSP2 相应基因完全一致。这些发现对研究预防人脑型疟疫苗和建立一种新型脑型疟恶性疟原虫检测方法具有重要意义。     

广州地区淋球菌对环丙沙星耐药的监测与分析

目的 为了解广州地区1998～2002年淋球菌对环丙沙星敏感性和耐药性的变迁。方法 采用琼脂稀释法测定环丙沙星对每年分离的淋球菌的最低抑菌浓度(MIC)。结果 对1998～2002年在广州市性病监测中心就诊的性病患者中分离到的603株淋球菌，进行耐药性分析，环丙沙星的敏感率由1998年的12％降至2002年的零敏感，而耐药率由1998年的56．5％上升至2002年的98％。结论 广州地区流行的淋球菌的耐药情况日趋严重，喹诺酮类药物的高耐药率表明已不再适宜被推荐为治疗淋病的一线药物。有必要持续监测淋球菌的耐药性，并减少抗菌药物的滥用，以保证药物的敏感性。