[Improvement in cardiac morphology and function in young rats with dilated cardiomyopathy by recombinant human growth hormone].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) on the morphology and function of the left cardiac ventricle in young rats with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rhGH in the treatment of DCM. METHODS: Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly and equally assigned to control group, DCM group, and rhGH group. Furazolidone (0.25 mg/g) was given by gavage for 12 weeks to prepare the DCM model. Rats in the rhGH group received an intraperitoneal injection of rhGH (0.15 U/kg) once per day for 12 weeks, while rats in the DCM group received an equal volume of normal saline instead. Rats in the control group did not receive any treatment. Cardiac indices, serum biochemical parameters, hemodynamic indices, cardiac histopathological changes, and levels of myocardial collagen fibrils in each group were determined using Doppler echocardiography, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, multi-channel physiological recorder, light and electron microscopy, and picrosirius red staining plus polarization microscopy, respectively. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, rats in the DCM group had significantly increased cardiac chamber size, significantly reduced ventricular wall thickness, and significantly decreased fractional shortening (FS) and ejection fraction (EF) (P<0.05). Rats in the rhGH group had significantly improved cardiac chamber size, ventricular wall thickness, FS, and EF compared with the DCM group (P<0.05). Those indices in the rhGH group were similar to those in the control group (P>0.05). There were significant differences in serum biochemical parameters and hemodynamic indices between the DCM and control groups (P<0.05). Compared with the DCM group, the rhGH group had significantly improved serum biochemical parameters and hemodynamic indices (P<0.05). Those indices in the rhGH group were similar to those in the control group (P>0.05), except for the levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3. The DCM group had a significantly higher collagen type I/collagen type III (Col I/Col III) ratio in the myocardium than the control group (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in the Col I/Col III ratio between the control and rhGH groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: rhGH plays a certain role in improvement in the morphology and function of the left cardiac ventricle in young rats with DCM.

[Clinical significance of skin prick test for inhalant allergens in 3085 children with allergic diseases].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the main inhalant allergens and their distribution patterns in children with allergic diseases from Xi'an and the surrounding area and to provide evidence for the prevention and treatment of allergic diseases in children. METHODS: Skin prick test was performed using liquid with 13 standardized allergens (ALK-ABELL, Denmark) on 3085 children from Xi'an and the surrounding area who were treated for allergic diseases between July 2006 and July 2011, to detect inhalant allergens. RESULTS: Of the 3085 patients, 1368 (44.34%) had positive SPT results, with the most prevalent inhalant allergen being Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (804 cases, 26.06%), followed by Dermatophagoides farinae (793 cases, 25.71%), Blomia tropicalis (440 cases, 14.26%), mugwort (282 cases, 9.14%), and cat hair (204 cases, 6.61%). The positive rates were 28.66% in the <4 years group, 41.85% in the 4-6 years group, and 58.61% in the 7-15 years group (P<0.01). Males had a significantly higher SPT positive rate than females (47.78% vs 38.50%；P<0.05). The SPT positive rate was highest in children with allergic rhinitis (72.41%), followed by bronchial asthma (62-25%), allergic dermatosis (45.83%), and allergic purpura (36.28%). CONCLUSIONS: In children from Xi'an and the surrounding area, the main inhalant allergens for allergic diseases include Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, Blomia tropicalis, mugwort and cat hair. The SPT positive rate increases with age. Male children have a higher SPT positive rate than female children. The SPT positive rate is highest in children with allergic rhinitis.

[Gene expression of Notch1 and Jagged1 in children with acute leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To study the gene expression of Notch1 and Jagged1 in children with acute leukemia (AL) and their possible roles in the pathogenesis of AL. METHODS: Mononuclear cells from bone marrow or peripheral blood of 47 children with AL and 20 controls (normal children or children with nonmalignant hematologic disease) were collected from February 2009 to July 2011. A two-step method to semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the gene expression of Notch1 and Jagged1. Of the 47 children with AL, there were 26 cases of B-ALL, 6 cases of T-ALL and 15 cases of AML. RESULTS: The positive expression rate of Notch1 in the ALL and AML groups was higher than in the control group (P<0.05). The expression level of Notch1 in T-ALL children was higher than in B-ALL children (P<0.01). The positive expression rate of Jagged1 in the ALL and AML groups was not significantly different from the control group, however, the expression level of Jagged1 in the ALL and AML groups was higher than in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There are significant differences in the gene expression of Notch1 between children with different types of ALL, and a higher expression of Notch1 relates to T-ALL. The activation of Notch1 signal is common in children with AL. The abnormal gene expression of Notch1 in children with AML shows the role of Notch1 in AML. The gene expression of Jagged1 in children with ALL or AML is abnormal, and this needs to be confirmed by further research.

[Therapeutic effects of erythropoietin on hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in neonates].

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of erythropoietinin (EPO) in the treatment of moderate or severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in neonates. METHODS: Seventy neonates with moderate or severe HIE were randomly assigned to two groups: EPO treatment and control (n=35 each). The EPO treatment group included 22 cases of moderate HIE and 13 cases of severe HIE. The control group included 24 cases of moderate HIE and 11 cases of severe HIE. Thirty-five healthy full-term infants served as normal group. The control group received a conventional treatment. Beside the conventional treatment, the EPO treatment group was intravenously injected with EPO of 200 IU/kg•d, 3 times weekly. Routine blood test was performed every 6 days. EPO dose was adjusted based on the results of the routine blood test. The course of EPO treatment was 2 to 4 weeks. Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment (NBNA) was performed at age of 28 days. The infant development test of Child Development Centre of China (CDCC) was performed at ages of 3 months and 6 months. RESULTS: The percentage of normal NBNA scores in the EPO treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group at age of 28 days (P<0.05), but was significantly lower than that in the normal group (P<0.01). The CDCC test including physical development index (PDI) and physical development index (MDI) showed the percentage of normal results in the EPO treatment group was significantly higher than in the control group at age of 3 months (P<0.05), but was significantly lower than in the normal group (P<0.01). The CDCC test including PDI and MDI showed that the percentage of normal results in the EPO treatment group was significantly higher than in the control group at age of 6 months. The MDI test results in the EPO treatment group were not significantly different from those in the normal group at age of 6 months, but the percentage of normal results in the PDI test in the EPO treatment group was still significantly lower than that in the normal group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: EPO treatment has neuroprotective effects against moderate or severe HIE and improves long-term behavioral neurological developments in neonates.

[Expression of cdx2 gene in pediatric patients with leukemia and its clinical significance].

This study was aimed to investigate the expression of cdx2 gene in pediatric patients with acute leukemia and its clinical implication. The bone marrow and peripheral blood were collected from 33 newly diagnosed pediatric patients with acute leukemia, the cdx2 gene expression in each AL subtypes and normal controls was detected by RT-PCR, the relationship between cdx2 expression and response to treatment was observed. The results showed that the expression of cdx2 was positive in 25 out of 30 AL cases (83.3%), to be exact, in 20 of 21 ALL cases (95.2%) and in 5 of 9 AML cases (55.6%), which showed statistical difference (p < 0.05). The cdx2 mRNA could be detected also in 1 of 3 CML cases. However, no expression of cdx2 was observed in all normal control which revealed significant difference between patient group and normal control group. 21 AL patients with cdx2 positive expression (17 ALL and 4 AML patients) and 4 AL patients with cxd2 negative expression (1 ALL and 3 AML patients) all reached complete remission (CR) after treatment, which showed no correlation with CR rate. 8 patients with positive cdx2 expression were followed up. As a result, the cdx2 positive expression at initial diagnosis of patients remained positive at reaching CR, but it gradually turned to negative along with prolonging of CR, while the cdx2 negative expression at initial diagnosis of patients remained negative at CR in bone marrow level. It is concluded that cdx2 positive expression is observed in the majority of pediatric AL patients, even positive rate in ALL patients is higher than that in AML patients, while the cdx2 expression also can be observed in CML patients. The cdx2 positive expression is not related to the CR rate in AL patients.

[Roles of serum and urinary interleukins 13Ralpha2 and other cytokines in pediatric Henoch-Schonlein purpura].

OBJECTIVE: To study the roles of serum and urinary interleukins (IL)-13Ralpha2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha) in pediatric Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP). METHODS: Serum and urinary levels of IL-13Ralpha2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha were examined using ELISA in 52 children with HSP and 45 healthy children. The results were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Serum levels of IL-13Ralpha2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha in HSP patients with or without renal lesions were higher than those in the control group (p<0.01 or 0.05). Urinary levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in HSP patients without renal lesions were higher than those in the control group (p<0.05). Except for urinary levels of IL-6 and TNF-alpha, urinary IL-13Ralpha2 levels in HSP patients with renal lesions (HSPN) were higher than those in the control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Cytokines IL-13Ralpha2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha may play roles in the pathogenesis of pediatric HSP/HSPN.

[ALA-PDT alleviates graft-versus-host disease in mice following allogenic bone marrow transplantation].

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the hypothesis that 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) might alleviate acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) following allogenic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT) in mice. METHODS: Acute GVHD model following allo-BMT was established in 40 recipient BALB/C mice. Fifty C57BL/6J mice were used as donors and another 10 BALB/C mice as blank control without any intervention. Recipients received a lethal dose of 8.5 Gy (60)Co radiation for 10 minutes before transplantation and then were randomly divided into four groups of 10 mice (A-D). Group A was injected with normal saline injection and served as controls. Group B received pure donor bone marrow and spleen cell infusion. Group C received donor bone marrow and mixed donor-recipient spleen cell infusion. Group D was administered with an infusion of donor bone marrow cells and mixed donor-recipient spleen cells treated with ALA-PDT. The 28th day survival rate, incidence of acute GVHD and hematological and pathological changes after transplantation were examined. RESULTS: All the mice from the Blank control group survived. The survival rates for Groups A-D on the 28th day were 0, 0, 10% and 60% respectively. Group D showed a significantly higher survival rate than the other three groups (P < 0.01). Most of the mice in Groups B and C developed GVHD but only two developed in Group D. Moreover Group D had less severe hematological and pathological changes when compared with Groups B and C. CONCLUSIONS: ALA-PDT significantly alleviated GVHD and increased the 28th day survival rate for allo-BMT mice. ALA-PDT may be a promising therapy for GVHD following allo-BMT. Future studies should focus on the underlying mechanism of its therapeutic effect.

[The study on reversing mechanism of multidrug resistance of K562/A02 cell line by curcumin and erythromycin].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of curcumin (Cur) and erythromycin (EM) on multidrug resistance (MDR) reversal of K562/A02 cell line and their mechanism. METHODS: MTT assay was employed to determine the sensitivity of Cur, EM-treated K562/A02 cells to adriamycin (ADM). Flow cytometry was used to measure intracellular mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of daunorubicin (DNR). P-gp expression was determined by immunohistochemistry. RT-PCR technique was used to examine the mdr1 mRNA level. RESULTS: IC(50) of ADM in K562/A02 cells was decreased when treated with Cur or EM, and the reversal times (RvT) was 4.9, 3.7 respectively. The RvT reached to 11.3 when treated with Cur (2.5 microg/ml) combined with EM (120 microg/ml). The DNR MFI in K562/A02 cells was significantly lower than that in K562 cells (P < 0.01), and was increased significantly when treated with Cur (2.5 microg/ml) or EM (120 microg/ml) (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between DNR MFI of K562/A02 cells treated with Cur (2.5 microg/ml) or EM (120 microg/ml). Immunohistochemistry showed that P-gp expression was significantly higher in K562/A02 cells than in K562 cells (P < 0.01), and was reduced in K562/A02 cells treated with each (P < 0.01), though being still higher than that in K562 cells (P < 0.01). P-gp expression of K562/A02 cells treated with each drug for 5 days were lower than that for 3 days (P < 0.01), and lowered further when treated with Cur and EM together (P < 0.01). Mdr1 mRNA level in K562/A02 cells was higher than in K562 cells (P < 0.01), and was decreased when treated with each of the drugs (P < 0.01). The mdr1 mRNA level of K562/A02 cells treated with Cur (2.5 microg/ml) plus EM (120 microg/ml) was decreased most significantly than that treated with other group of drugs. After 5 day treatment the mdr1 mRNA level of K562/A02 cells with Cur (2.5 microg/ml) was lower than that with EM 120 microg/ml (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Either Cur or EM can partly reverse the multidrug resistance of K562/A02 cells and decrease the expression and function of P-gp in a time-dependent way. MDR reversing effect of Cur combined with EM is stronger than that of Cur or EM alone.