Analysis of viral load in different specimen types and serum antibody levels of COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has caused a global pandemic and the death toll is increasing. However, there is no definitive information regarding the type of clinical specimens that is the best for SARS-CoV-2 detection, the antibody levels in patients with different duration of disease, and the relationship between antibody level and viral load. METHODS: Nasopharyngeal swabs, anal swabs, saliva, blood, and urine specimens were collected from patients with a course of disease ranging from 7 to 69 days. Viral load in different specimen types was measured using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). Meanwhile, anti-nucleocapsid protein (anti-N) IgM and IgG antibodies and anti-spike protein receptor-binding domain (anti-S-RBD) IgG antibody in all serum samples were tested using ELISA. RESULTS: The positive detection rate in nasopharyngeal swab was the highest (54.05%), followed by anal swab (24.32%), and the positive detection rate in saliva, blood, and urine was 16.22%, 10.81%, and 5.41%, respectively. However, some patients with negative nasopharyngeal swabs had other specimens tested positive. There was no significant correlation between antibody level and days after symptoms onset or viral load. CONCLUSIONS: Other specimens could be positive in patients with negative nasopharyngeal swabs, suggesting that for patients in the recovery period, specimens other than nasopharyngeal swabs should also be tested to avoid false negative results, and anal swabs are recommended. The antibody level had no correlation with days after symptoms onset or the viral load of nasopharyngeal swabs, suggesting that the antibody level may also be affected by other factors.

Helicobacter pylori infection is correlated with the incidence of erosive oral lichen planus and the alteration of the oral microbiome composition.

BACKGROUND: Oral lichen planus (OLP), a common clinical oral disease, is associated with an increased risk of malignant transformation. The mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of OLP is unknown. Oral dysbacteriosis is reported to be one of the aetiological factors of OLP. Although Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with various oral diseases, the correlation between H. pylori infection and OLP is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of H. pylori infection on OLP pathogenesis and oral microbiome composition in the Chinese population, which has a high incidence of H. pylori infection. RESULT: In this study, saliva samples of 30 patients with OLP (OLP group) and 21 negative controls (NC group) were collected. H. pylori infection was detected using the carbon-13-labeled urea breath test (UBT). The saliva samples were divided into the following four groups based on the H. pylori status: H. pylori-positive OLP (OLP+), H. pylori-positive NC (NC+), H. pylori-negative OLP (OLP-), and H. pylori-negative NC (NC-). Oral microbiome compositions were significantly different between the OLP and NC groups and between the OLP- and OLP+ groups. Compared with those in the OLP- group, those in the OLP+ group had a higher incidence of erosive OLP and higher levels of salivary cytokines. In contrast, the oral microbiome composition and cytokine levels were not significantly different between the NC- and NC+ groups. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report to demonstrate that H. pylori infection is significantly correlated with the pathogenesis of erosive OLP.

Hemostatic Self-Healing Hydrogel with Excellent Biocompatibility Composed of Polyphosphate-Conjugated Functional PNIPAM-Bearing Acylhydrazide.

Biocompatible self-healing hydrogels present an effective application as drug-releasing vehicles for tissue engineering and wound repairing. At the same time, the effective hemostatic property of the hydrogels also improves the application property as wound dressing materials. In this research, the PNIPAM-bearing acylhydrazide P(NIPAM-co-AH) was synthesized and then hemostatic polyphosphate (PolyP) was imported to prepare polyphosphate-conjugated P(NIPAM-co-AH) (PNAP). Through the acylhydrazone connection of PNAP and aldehyde functional PEO (PEO DA), the self-healing hydrogel with a hemostatic property was fabricated with good flexibility and sealing effect. The resultant hydrogels kept excellent biocompatibility and showed controlled drug release behavior. More importantly, the hydrogel accelerated the coagulation rate in vitro and presented a strong hemostatic effect as the binder in the hemorrhage model in vivo, which endow the hemostatic hydrogel with a very useful drug delivery carrier for wound healing applications or first aid treatment of the wounded in critical situations.

Preliminary Study of MR and Fluorescence Dual-mode Imaging: Combined Macrophage-Targeted and Superparamagnetic Polymeric Micelles.

Purpose: To establish small-sized superparamagnetic polymeric micelles for magnetic resonance and fluorescent dual-modal imaging, we investigated the feasibility of MR imaging (MRI) and macrophage-targeted in vitro. Methods: A new class of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and Nile red-co-loaded mPEG-Lys3-CA4-NR/SPION polymeric micelles was synthesized to label Raw264.7 cells. The physical characteristics of the polymeric micelles were assessed, the T2 relaxation rate was calculated, and the effect of labeling on the cell viability and cytotoxicity was also determined in vitro. In addition, further evaluation of the application potential of the micelles was conducted via in vitro MRI. Results: The diameter of the mPEG-Lys3-CA4-NR/SPION polymeric micelles was 33.8 ± 5.8 nm on average. Compared with the hydrophilic SPIO, mPEG-Lys3-CA4-NR/SPION micelles increased transversely (r2), leading to a notably high r2 from 1.908 µg/mL-1S-1 up to 5.032 µg/mL-1S-1, making the mPEG-Lys3-CA4-NR/SPION micelles a highly sensitive MRI T2 contrast agent, as further demonstrated by in vitro MRI. The results of Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) and Prussian blue staining of Raw264.7 after incubation with micelle-containing medium indicated that the cellular uptake efficiency is high. Conclusion: We successfully synthesized dual-modal MR and fluorescence imaging mPEG-Lys3-CA4-NR/SPION polymeric micelles with an ultra-small size and high MRI sensitivity, which were effectively and quickly uptaken into Raw 264.7 cells. mPEG-Lys3-CA4-NR/SPION polymeric micelles might become a new MR lymphography contrast agent, with high effectiveness and high MRI sensitivity.

Automatic measurement of fetal anterior neck lower jaw angle in nuchal translucency scans.

This study aims at suggesting an end-to-end algorithm based on a U-net-optimized generative adversarial network to predict anterior neck lower jaw angles (ANLJA), which are employed to define fetal head posture (FHP) during nuchal translucency (NT) measurement. We prospectively collected 720 FHP images (half hyperextension and half normal posture) and regarded manual measurement as the gold standard. Seventy percent of the FHP images (half hyperextension and half normal posture) were used to fit models, and the rest to evaluate them in the hyperextension group, normal posture group (NPG), and total group. The root mean square error, explained variation, and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) were utilized for the validity assessment; the two-sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Bland-Altman plot, and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the reliability evaluation. Our suggested algorithm outperformed all the competitors in all groups and indices regarding validity, except for the MAPE, where the Inception-v3 surpassed ours in the NPG. The two-sample t test and Mann-Whitney U test indicated no significant difference between the suggested method and the gold standard in group-level comparison. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed significant differences between our new approach and the gold standard in personal-level comparison. All points in Bland-Altman plots fell between the upper and lower limits of agreement. The inter-ICCs of ultrasonographers, our proposed algorithm, and its opponents were graded good reliability, good or moderate reliability, and moderate or poor reliability, respectively. Our proposed approach surpasses the competition and is as reliable as manual measurement.

Photothermal enhanced antibacterial chitosan-based polydopamine composite hydrogel for hemostasis and burn wound repairing.

Bleeding and bacterial infection are common problems associated with wound treatment, while effective blood clotting and vessel regeneration promotion are the primary considerations to design the wound dressing materials. This research presents a chitosan-based hydrogel with grafted quaternary ammonium and polyphosphate (QCSP hydrogel) as the antibacterial hemostatic dressing to achieve burn wound treatment. The tissue adhesion of the hydrogel sealed the blood flow and the polyphosphate grafted to the chitosan promoted the activation of coagulation factor V to enhance the hemostasis. At the same time, the grafted quaternary ammonium enhanced the antibacterial ability of the biodegradable hydrogel wound dressing. In addition, the polydopamine as a photothermal agent was composited into the hydrogel to enhance the antibacterial and reactive oxygen scavenging performance. The in vivo hemostasis experiment proved the polyphosphate enhanced the coagulation property. Moreover, this photothermal property of the composite hydrogel enhanced the burn wound repairing rate combined with the NIR stimulus. As a result, this hydrogel could have potential application in clinic as dressing material for hemostasis and infection prone would repairing.

Preparation of antibacterial hydrogel from poly(aspartic hydrazide) and quaternized N-[3-(dimethylamino) propyl] methylacrylamide copolymer with antioxidant and hemostatic effects for wound repairing.

Hydrogels as wound dressing have attracted extensive attention in past decade because they can provide moist microenvironment to promote wound healing. Herein, this research designed a multifunctional hydrogel with antibacterial property and antioxidant activity fabricated from quaternary ammonium bearing light emitting quaternized TPE-P(DAA-co-DMAPMA) (QTPDD) and poly(aspartic hydrazide) (PAH). The protocatechuic aldehyde (PCA) grafted to the hydrogel through dynamic bond endowed the hydrogel with antioxidant activity and the tranexamic acid (TXA) was loaded to enhance the hemostatic performance. The hydrogel possesses preferable gelation time for injectable application, good antioxidant property and tissue adhesion, improved hemostatic performance fit for wound repairing. Furthermore, the hydrogel has excellent antimicrobial property to both E. coli and S. aureus based on quaternary ammonium structure. The hydrogel also showed good biocompatibility and the in vivo experiments proved this hydrogel can promote the wound repairing rate. This study suggests that TXA/hydrogel with quaternary ammonium structure and dynamic grafted PCA have great potential in wound healing applications.

Tribological and mechanical behaviors of polyamide 6/glass fiber composite filled with various solid lubricants.

The effects of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), graphite, ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), and their compounds on mechanical and tribological properties of glass-fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 (PA6/GF) were studied. The polymeric materials were blended using twin-screw extruder and subsequently injection molded for test samples. Mechanical properties were investigated in terms of hardness, tensile strength, and impact strength. Friction and wear experiments were run under ambient conditions at a rotating speed of 200 rpm and load of 100 N. The morphologies of the worn surfaces were also observed with scanning electron microscope. The results showed that graphite could increase the tensile strength of PA6/GF-15 composite, but the material became soft. Graphite/UHMWPE complex solid lubricants were effective in increasing the already high impact strength of PA6/GF-15 composite. 5% PTFE gave the maximum reduction in the coefficient of friction. However, PTFE/UHMWPE complex solid lubricants were the best choice for improving both friction and wear behaviors due to the lower friction coefficient and mass wear rate. Moreover, the worn surface of PA6 composites revealed that adhesive wear, abrasive wear, and fatigue wear occurred in this study.

Developing a Ruthenium(III) Complex to Trigger Gasdermin E-Mediated Pyroptosis and an Immune Response Based on Decitabine and Liposomes: Targeting Inhibition of Gastric Tumor Growth and Metastasis.

To develop next-generation metal drugs with high efficiency and low toxicity for targeting inhibition of gastric tumor growth and metastasis, we not only optimized a series of ruthenium (Ru, III) 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde thiosemicarbazone complexes to obtain a Ru(III) complex (4b) with remarkable cytotoxicity in vitro but also constructed a 4b-decitabine (DCT)/liposome (Lip) delivery system (4b-DCT-Lip). The in vivo results showed that 4b-DCT-Lip not only had a stronger capacity to inhibit gastric tumor growth and metastasis than 4b-DCT but also addressed the co-delivery problems of 4b-DCT and improved their targeting ability. Furthermore, we confirmed the mechanism of 4b-DCT/4b-DCT-Lip inhibiting the growth and metastasis of a gastric tumor. DCT-upregulated gasdermin E (GSDME) was cleaved by 4b-activated caspase-3 to afford GSDME-N terminal and then was aggregated to form nonselective pores on the cell membrane of a gastric tumor, thereby inducing pyroptosis and a pyroptosis-induced immune response.

Cellulose based self-healing hydrogel through Boronic Ester connections for wound healing and antitumor applications.

The application of biodegradable hydrogels in medical field has drawn great attention because their networked structure provided ideal spaces for drug loading and cell growth. In this research, the boronic acid was coupled onto carboxyethyl cellulose (CMC) to synthesize boronic acid grafted CMC (CMC-BA) conveniently and self-healing hydrogel was fabricated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) crosslinking through dynamic boronic ester bond. The CMC-BA/PVA hydrogel showed good biocompatibility and could be degraded by cellulase and in vivo. The hydrogel formed fast fit for localized injection to cover the irregular wounds and localize the antitumor drugs to the tumor site. The in vivo wound repairing experiment revealed the hydrogel could form airtight adhesion to the wound site to reduce blood loss and accelerate the wound repairing rate. The hydrogel as a drug release carrier also reduced the acute in vivo toxicity of DOX with antitumor performance well preserved through a controlled release profile. Based on the above advantages, the CMC-based hydrogel with boronic ester connection should have great potential in biomedical areas with profitable future.

Second near-infrared photoactivatable nanomedicines for enhanced photothermal-chemodynamic therapy of cancer.

Nanomedicines have been widely used for cancer therapy, while controlling their activity for effective and safe treatment remains a big challenge. Herein, we report the development of a second near-infrared (NIR-II) photoactivatable enzyme-loaded nanomedicine for enhanced cancer therapy. Such a hybrid nanomedicine contains a thermoresponsive liposome shell loaded with copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuS NPs) and glucose oxidase (GOx). The CuS nanoparticles mediate the generation of local heat under 1064 nm laser irradiation, which not only can be used for NIR-II photothermal therapy (PTT), but also leads to the destruction of the thermal-responsive liposome shell to achieve the on-demand release of CuS nanoparticles and GOx. In a tumor microenvironment, GOx oxidizes glucose to produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) that acts as a medium to promote the efficacy of chemodynamic therapy (CDT) by CuS nanoparticles. This hybrid nanomedicine enables the synergetic action of NIR-II PTT and CDT to obviously improve efficacy without remarkable side effects via NIR-II photoactivatable release of therapeutic agents. Such a hybrid nanomedicine-mediated treatment can achieve complete ablation of tumors in mouse models. This study provides a promising nanomedicine with photoactivatable activity for effective and safe cancer therapy.

A detailed comparison of two species in the genus Potamanthus Pictet, 1843 from China (Ephemeroptera, Potamanthidae).

Photographs and details of structures of two Potamanthus species, P.huoshanensis Wu, 1987 and P.luteus (Linnaeus, 1767), are presented for the first time. Here, based upon Chinese specimens of those species, all external structures are illustrated digitally and compared. The results and photos clearly show that the adults of the two species are different in wing color and genitalia shape, and that their nymphs have different mandibular tusks and forelegs. Specifically, P.luteus has a more colorful body and wings, longer penes and nymphal mandibular tusks but shorter foretarsi than those of P.huoshanensis. This comparison not only confirms the differences between these two similar species, but also supports the updated generic delineations of Potamanthus and Potamanthodes.

Systematics of Potamanthodes nanchangi Hsu, 1936 (Ephemeroptera: Potamanthidae).

The enigmatic mayfly Potamanthodes nanchangi Hsu, 1936 was briefly described based on a male. Currently, this species has an unclear taxonomic position and no supporting type specimen, consequently its recognition, differentiation and classification is vague. In this study, by using fresh specimens from type locality in Jiangxi province at central China, this species is redescribed, photographed, and a neotype is designated. This species evidently belongs to the genus Potamanthodes Ulmer, 1920 by its short mandibular tusks (shorter than head), presence of setae row on forefemora of nymphs, slender and deeply bifurcated V-shaped penes, common base of MP2 and CuA of forewings. Significant morphological characters defining this species are relatively long penial tips, greatly bent R1 of hindwings and small compound eyes of the males, large mandibular tusks and long forelegs of the nymphs. Therefore, the P. nanchangi is indeed a valid and apomorphic species in the genus Potamanthodes.

Rubber Antioxidants and Their Transformation Products: Environmental Occurrence and Potential Impact.

Antioxidants are prevalently used during rubber production to improve rubber performance, delay aging, and extend service life. However, recent studies have revealed that their transformation products (TPs) could adversely affect environmental organisms and even lead to environmental events, which led to great public concern about environmental occurrence and potential impacts of rubber antioxidants and their TPs. In this review, we first summarize the category and application of rubber antioxidants in the world, and then demonstrate the formation mechanism of their TPs in the environment, emphasizing their influence on the ozone oxidative degradation. The potential toxic effects of antioxidants and their TPs are further reviewed to improve understanding of their biological health impact and environmental risks. Finally, the environmental occurrences of antioxidants and their TPs are summarized and their environmental impacts are demonstrated based on the recent studies. Due to the currently limited understanding on the toxic and biological effects of these compounds, further studies are required in order to better assess various TPs of these antioxidants and their environmental impact. To our knowledge, this is the first review on antioxidants and their TPs in the environment, which may elevate the environmental risk awareness of rubber products and their TPs in the near future.

Glucose biosensor based on titanium dioxide-multiwall carbon nanotubes-chitosan composite and functionalized gold nanoparticles.

In this paper, a new glucose biosensor was prepared. At first, Prussian blue (PB) was electrodeposited on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified by titanium dioxide-multiwall carbon nanotubes-chitosan (TiO(2)-MWNTs-CS) composite, and then gold nanoparticles functionalized by poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA-Au) were adsorbed on the PB film. Finally, the negatively charged glucose oxidase (GOD) was self-assembled on to the positively charged PDDA-Au. The electrochemical performances of the modified electrodes had been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and amperometric methods, respectively. In addition, the stepwise fabrication process of the as-prepared biosensor was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. PDDA-Au nanoparticles were characterized by ultraviolet-vis absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Under the optimal conditions, the as-prepared biosensor exhibited a good response performance to glucose with a linear range from 6 µM to 1.2 mM with a detection limit of 0.1 µM glucose (S/N = 3). In addition, this work indicated that TiO(2)-MWNTs-CS composite and PDDA-Au nanoparticles held great potential for constructing biosensors.

Energy-converting biomaterials for cancer therapy: Category, efficiency, and biosafety.

Energy-converting biomaterials (ECBs)-mediated cancer-therapeutic modalities have been extensively explored, which have achieved remarkable benefits to overwhelm the obstacles of traditional cancer-treatment modalities. Energy-driven cancer-therapeutic modalities feature their distinctive merits, including noninvasiveness, low mammalian toxicity, adequate therapeutic outcome, and optimistical synergistic therapeutics. In this advanced review, the prevailing mainstream ECBs can be divided into two sections: Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-associated energy-converting biomaterials (ROS-ECBs) and hyperthermia-related energy-converting biomaterials (H-ECBs). On the one hand, ROS-ECBs can transfer exogenous or endogenous energy (such as light, radiation, ultrasound, or chemical) to generate and release highly toxic ROS for inducing tumor cell apoptosis/necrosis, including photo-driven ROS-ECBs for photodynamic therapy, radiation-driven ROS-ECBs for radiotherapy, ultrasound-driven ROS-ECBs for sonodynamic therapy, and chemical-driven ROS-ECBs for chemodynamic therapy. On the other hand, H-ECBs could translate the external energy (such as light and magnetic) into heat for killing tumor cells, including photo-converted H-ECBs for photothermal therapy and magnetic-converted H-ECBs for magnetic hyperthermia therapy. Additionally, the biosafety issues of ECBs are expounded preliminarily, guaranteeing the ever-stringent requirements of clinical translation. Finally, we discussed the prospects and facing challenges for constructing the new-generation ECBs for establishing intriguing energy-driven cancer-therapeutic modalities. This article is categorized under: Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology >Nanoscale Systems in Biology.

Developing a Novel Indium(III) Agent Based on Liposomes to Overcome Cisplatin-Induced Resistance in Breast Cancer by Multitargeting the Tumor Microenvironment Components.

To overcome the resistance of cancer cells to platinum-based drugs and effectively suppress tumor growth, we developed a novel indium (In) agent based on liposomes (Lips). Thus, we not only obtained an In(III) thiosemicarbazone agent (5b) with remarkable cytotoxicity by optimizing a series of In(III) thiosemicarbazone agents (1b-5b) but also successfully constructed a novel 5b-loaded Lip (5b-Lip) delivery system. Importantly, in vitro and in vivo results revealed that 5b/5b-Lip overcame the tumor cell resistance and effectively inhibited MCF-7/DDP tumor growth. In addition, Lips improved the intracellular accumulation of 5b. We also confirmed the mechanism by which 5b/5b-Lip overcomes breast cancer cell resistance. 5b/5b-Lip cannot act against DNA in cancer cells but attacks the two cell components in the tumor microenvironment, namely, by inducing apoptosis and lethal autophagy of cancer cells and resetting tumor-promoting M2 macrophages to the tumor-killing M1 phenotype.

Self-healing PEG-poly(aspartic acid) hydrogel with rapid shape recovery and drug release.

Self-healing hydrogels were prepared from hydrazide functionalized poly(aspartic acid) (PAsp). The polymer succinimide (PSI) was reacted with hydrazine and ethanolamine successively to obtain water soluble poly(aspartic acid) derivatives with hydrazide functional groups (PAEH). The hydrogel was prepared by cross-linking PAEH with poly(ethylene glycol) dialdehyde (PEG DA) under mild conditions without addition of catalyst. The rheological property and the self-healing property of the hydrogels were investigated intensively. The in vitro toxicity experiment showed the hydrogels have good bio-compatibility and the doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded hydrogels showed controlled release profile. Importantly, the hydrogel can still be degraded based on poly(aspartic acid) backbone. The bio-degradable poly(amino acid) based on self-healing hydrogel could have great potential application in bioscience including tissue repairing, drug loading and release.

Preparation and characterization of luteinising-hormone releasing hormone nanoliposomal microbubbles specifically targeting ovarian cancer cells in vitro.

The aim of the present study was to prepare luteinizing-hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) nanoliposomal microbubbles specifically targeting ovarian cancer cells. The lyophilization/sonication method was used to prepare non-targeting nanoliposomal microbubbles (N-N-Mbs). Using the biotin-avidin bridge method, conjugated LHRH antibodies to N-N-Mbs generated LHRH nanoliposomal microbubbles (LHRH-N-Mbs) specifically targeting ovarian cancer cells. The morphology and physicochemical properties of the microbubbles was detected using an optical microscope and zeta detector. The binding affinity between the secondary antibody and LHRH-N-Mbs or N-N-Mbs was determined by flow cytometry. The binding of LHRH-N-Mb to human ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR-3) was detected by light microscopy. The rounded and uniformly distributed N-N-Mbs and LHRH-N-Mbs were successfully generated. The particle size ranged from 295-468 nm with a mean of 360 nm for N-N-Mbs or 369-618 nm with a mean of 508 nm for LHRH-N-Mbs. There was a significant difference in size between the two groups (P<0.05), although the surface potential of the two microbubbles remained the same (-14.6 mV). Following being kept at room temperature for 14 days, no significant difference in the physicochemical properties of the LHRH-N-Mbs was detected compared with that of freshly prepared microbubbles. The secondary antibody binding rate of LHRH-N-Mbs and N-N-Mbs was 75.6 and 0.83%, respectively. Furthermore, the formation of a rosette-like structure surrounding OVCAR-3 cells was observed after the cells were incubated with LHRH-N-Mbs, whereas pre-incubation with LHRH antibody blocked this rosette formation. In conclusion, LHRH-N-Mbs specifically targeting ovarian cancer cells were successfully prepared through biotin-avidin mediation and the lyophilization/sonication method. The key feature of LHRH-N-Mbs is their small size, stability and high efficiency in targeting human OVCAR-3 cells in vitro.

Effect of Qingguangan on the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in filtering bleb after trabeculectomy in rabbits.

AIM: To explore the effect of Qingguangan on the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in filtering bleb scarring area after trabeculectomy in rabbit model. METHODS: Thirty-two New Zealand rabbits were randomized into four groups: control group, experimental group, MMC group (ocular trabeculectomy in combination with MMC), and Qingguangan group. Trabeculectomy was performed on both eyes in each group except control group. Qingguangan group was mouth-fed with Qingguangan (solution). On postoperative day 14, the appearances of MMP-2 and MMP-9 on filtrating blebs were observed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Statistical differences of the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were noted among groups on day 14 following surgery. Histology immunohistochemistry showed significant differences on the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 between each group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Qingguangan can promote the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9.