A novel fluffy PLGA/HA composite scaffold for bone defect repair.

Treatment of bone defects remains crucial challenge for successful bone healing, which arouses great interests in designing and fabricating ideal biomaterials. In this regard, the present study focuses on developing a novel fluffy scaffold of poly Lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) composites with hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffold used in bone defect repair in rabbits. This fluffy PLGA/HA composite scaffold was fabricated by using multi-electro-spinning combined with biomineralization technology. In vitro analysis of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) seeded onto fluffy PLGA/HA composite scaffold showed their ability to adhere, proliferate and cell viability. Transplant of fluffy PLGA/HA composite scaffold in a rabbit model showed a significant increase in mineralized tissue production compared to conventional and fluffy PLGA/HA composite scaffold. These findings are promising for fluffy PLGA/HA composite scaffolds used in bone defects.

Study of 3-bromopyruvate on regulating imbalance of apoptosis/autophagy in fibroblast-like synoviocytes through AMPK/mTOR pathway / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the regulatory effects of 3-bromopyruvate (3-BrPA) on apoptosis and autophagy of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) in rats based on AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway and the underlying mechanism. Methods FLS of rats in vitro were cultured and induced by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) to construct a model of rheumatoid arthritis (R A). MTT assay was used to explore the optimal concentration of TNF-α and 3 -BrPA for induction and treatment of FLS. The effects of 3-BrPA on the migration and invasion of FLS were detected by Wound healing assay and Transwell assay. The apoptosis of FLS was tested by flow cytometry and mitochondrial membrane potential assay kit (JC-1). Moreover, FLS autophagic flux was detected by mCherry-EGFP-LC3B-overexpressed plasmids, and the expression of apoptosis/autophagy-related proteins as well as AMPK/mTOR pathway-related proteins were detected by Western blot. Results 3-BrPA (15 μmol • L) significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of FLS stimulated by TNF-a (25 μg • L

The Epidemiological Pattern and Co-infection of Influenza A and B by Surveillance Network From 2009 to 2014 in Anhui Province, China.

Influenza-like illness (ILI) is one of the most important public health problems globally, causing an enormous disease burden. Influenza infections are the most common cause of ILI. Bacterial and virus co-infection is common yet the data of co-infection with influenza A and B viruses are scarce. To identify the epidemiological patterns of and co-infection of influenza A and B in Anhui province, China, we analyzed the surveillance data of 5 years from 2009 to 2014 collected by the Chinese National influenzas network. The results showed that the weekly ratio of ILI was 3.96 ± 1.9% (95% CI 3.73-4.2%) in outpatients and the highest affected population was children under 5 years old. The epidemic of influenza viruses was highest during 2009-2010. For the other 4 surveillance years, school-aged people (5-14 years) were the most highly affected population. Influenza B and H3N2 viruses were more prevalent than H1N1pdm09 virus after 2010. In addition, a significant co-circulation of influenza A (H1N1pdm09 and H3N2) and influenza B virus was detected with 0.057% PCR positive rate during 2009-2014 in Eastern China, yet isolated only in pediatric patients. Our data reveals school-aged population would be the main vulnerable population and a distinct seasonality for influenza. In addition, the co-infection of influenza A and B were found in Anhui Province, China. Ongoing surveillance is critical to understand the seasonality variation and make evidence-based vaccination recommendations. Information on the epidemiological patterns and co-infections of influenza A and B can help us to implement different strategies for selecting vaccine formulations and monitoring new emerging influenza strains. In addition, the identification of the susceptible population can help us to develop more precise protection measures.

Clinical features and diagnostic approaches for abdominal tuberculosis: five-year experience from a non-tuberculosis-designated hospital in China.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: abdominal tuberculosis (TB) is a common form of extrapulmonary TB but it is still a diagnostic dilemma in clinical practice. This study aimed to highlight the clinical features and diagnostic approaches for abdominal TB. METHODS: seventy cases of diagnosed abdominal TB were retrospectively collected between August 1st, 2015 and June 30th, 2020. They were classified as peritoneal TB, lymph node TB, gastrointestinal TB, visceral TB or mixed TB. RESULTS: eighteen patients were diagnosed with peritoneal TB, nine with lymph node TB, five with gastrointestinal TB, two with visceral TB and 36 with mixed TB. More than 65 % of the patients had tuberculosis of other sites except the abdomen. The median diagnosis time was 60 days. Ascites (58.6 %), abdominal distension (48.6 %), weight loss (44.3 %) and fever (42.9 %) were the most common symptoms. The overall microbiological and histological detection rates were 70.0 % and 38.6 %, respectively. The non-ascite samples yielded a higher microbiological confirmation rate (63.6 %) than the total samples (40.8 %). Diagnosis was confirmed histologically in 18 patients (69.2 %). Forty-five cases (64.3 %) were clinically diagnosed. Invasive procedures such as surgery (6/7), percutaneous biopsy (7/7) and endoscopy in lymph node TB (4/5) had high confirmation rates. CONCLUSIONS: the diagnosis of abdominal TB should be reached by a combination of clinical, laboratory, radiological, microbiological and pathological findings.

Heme oxygenase-1 reduces inflammatory response by inhibiting thioredoxin interacting protein/NOD-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome activation in RAW264.7 cells / 中华危重病急救医学

Objective:To investigate the inhibitory effect and mechanism of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) on the inflammatory response of macrophages.Methods:Mouse macrophage strain RAW264.7 was cultured in vitro, and the cells in the logarithmic growth phase were used for the experiment. The RAW264.7 cells were divided into four groups. In blank control group, the cells were continuously incubated and received no treatment (cultured at 37 ℃, 95% air, 5% CO 2). In lipopolysaccharide (LPS) model group, 1 mg/L LPS was added to the medium to prepare LPS challenge model. In HO-1 inducer group, the cells were incubated with 30 μmol/L HO-1 inducer hemin for 1 hour, and then 1 mg/L LPS was added for incubation. In HO-1 inhibition group, the cells were incubated with 5 μmol/L HO-1 specific antagonist Zinc protoporphyrin Ⅸ (ZnPPⅨ) for 0.5 hour, and then 1 mg/L LPS was added for incubation. After 48 hours of incubation with LPS, the supernatant of each group was taken, and the protein expressions of HO-1, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP), NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and mitochondrial autophagy marker microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B (LC-3B) were detected by Western blotting. The expression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was detected by immunofluorescence staining. Results:Compared with the blank control group, the cells in the LPS model group had a certain stress response, and autophagy occurred in mitochondria, but the expression of some inflammatory factors was restricted, which was related to the impairment of cell function. The protein expressions of HO-1, IL-1β, LC-3B, ROS were significantly increased, the protein expressions of TNF-α, TXNIP, and NLRP3 were decreased significantly, indicating that the cells were seriously injured after LPS challenge, and the model was successfully established. Compared with the LPS model group, HO-1 protein expression in the HO-1 inducer group was significantly increased (HO-1/GAPDH: 0.31±0.03 vs. 0.22±0.03, P < 0.05), the protein expressions of TNF-α, IL-1β, TXNIP, NLRP3, LC-3B and ROS were significantly inhibited [TNF-α protein (TNF-α/GAPDH): 0.08±0.01 vs. 0.45±0.05, IL-1β protein (IL-1β/GAPDH): 0.50±0.01 vs. 0.82±0.03, TXNIP protein (TXNIP/GAPDH): 0.21±0.02 vs. 0.28±0.02, NLRP3 protein (NLRP3/GAPDH): 0.11±0.01 vs. 0.17±0.02, LC-3B protein (LC-3B/GAPDH): 0.67±0.04 vs. 0.92±0.12, ROS (fluorescence intensity): 80.9±12.5 vs. 94.1±19.5, all P < 0.05], indicating that HO-1 could inhibit inflammatory response and oxidative stress, and reduce mitochondrial autophagy. Antagonizing HO-1 could increase inflammatory response, oxidative stress and mitochondrial autophagy, the inhibitory degree of TNF-α and IL-1β expression was significantly reduced as compared with the HO-1 inducer group [TNF-α protein (TNF-α/GAPDH): 0.26±0.02 vs. 0.08±0.01, IL-1β protein (IL-1β/GAPDH): 0.76±0.01 vs. 0.50±0.01, both P < 0.05], the protein expressions of TXNIP, NLRP3, LC-3B and ROS were significantly increased as compared with the LPS model group [TXNIP protein (TXNIP/GAPDH): 0.43±0.02 vs. 0.28±0.02, NLRP3 protein (NLRP3/GAPDH): 0.24±0.02 vs. 0.17±0.02, LC-3B protein (LC-3B/GAPDH): 1.12±0.07 vs. 0.92±0.12, ROS (fluorescence intensity): 112.0±17.0 vs. 94.1±19.5, all P < 0.05]. Conclusion:HO-1 can reduce the inflammatory response by inhibiting the activation of TXNIP/NLRP3 inflammasome and reducing the release of inflammatory mediators.

Effect of Modified Shenling Baizhusan on Gastrointestinal Dysfunction and Protein-energy Wasting in Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis Patients / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo observe and analyze the effect of modified Shenling Baizhusan on gastrointestinal dysfunction and protein-energy wasting （PEW） of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis （CAPD） patients with the syndrome of spleen deficiency， blood stasis， and dampness. MethodA total of 66 CAPD patients with the above syndrome were randomized into the observation group and control group， 33 cases in each group. However， 3 cases in each group dropped out， finally leaving 30 cases in each group. Both groups received CAPD and conventional symptomatic treatment. On this basis， the observation group was given modified Shenling Baizhusan （1 bag/day， once in the morning and again in the evening， 12 weeks）， and the control group the bifidobacterium capsules （1.05 g/time， twice/day， 12 weeks）. Before and after treatment， the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， gastrointestinal symptom rating scale （GSRS） score， and malnutrition-inflammation score （MIS） in two groups were recorded， and the levels of serum albumin （ALB）， prealbumin （PA）， transferrin （TRF）， gastrin-17 （G-17）， tumor necrosis factor alpha （TNF-α）， interferon-γ （IFN-γ）， and interleukin-10 （IL-10） were detected. Moreover， body mass index （BMI） was calculated. ResultAfter treatment， the alleviation of the TCM syndrome in the observation group was better than that in the control group （Z=-2.591， P<0.05）， and the TCM syndrome score in the observation group was lower than that in the control （P<0.05）. The symptom scores， MIS， and G-17 of the observation group were significantly decreased compared with those before observation and in the control group （P<0.05）. After treatment， the GSRS scores of the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment （P<0.05）， particularly the observation group （P<0.05）. ALB， PA， TRF， and BMI of the observation group after treatment were increased compared with those before treatment and those of the control group after treatment （P<0.05）. After treatment， serum TNF-α and IFN-γ of the two groups were significantly reduced compared with those before treatment （P<0.05）， and the levels of the two in the observation group were significantly lower in the observation group than in the control group （P<0.05）. After treatment， IL-10 level of the observation group was higher than that before treatment and in the control group （P<0.05）. ConclusionThe modified Shenling Baizhusan can relieve the gastrointestinal dysfunction and PEW in CAPD patients with the syndrome of spleen deficiency， blood stasis， and dampness.

A Photoluminescent Cd(II) Coordination Polymer with Potential Active Sites Exhibiting Multiresponsive Fluorescence Sensing for Trace Amounts of NACs and Fe3+ and Al3+ Ions.

The elaborately designed π-electron-rich fluorescent ligand 1,4-bis(1-carboxymethylene-4-imidazolyl)benzene (H2L), possessing bifunctional groups including the carboxylate groups (building units) and 4-imidazoyl groups (N-donor potential active sites) has been employed to construct fluorescent coordination polymers. A luminescent sensor, namely [Cd(L)(phen)2]·5H2O (1), was obtained, which has a one-dimensional structure. The fluorescent material shows a blue emission maximum at 457 nm with a luminescence lifetime of 488 ns and a quantum yield (QY) of 4.56%. Significantly, 1 serves as a promising multiresponsive luminescent sensor to detect trace nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) with the limits of detection (LOD) of 7.21 × 10-8, 1.85 × 10-5, and 1.15 × 10-5 mol/L for 2-nitrophenol (2-NP), 3-nitrophenol (3-NP), and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), respectively. Furthermore, CP 1 exhibits fluorescent turn-off and turn-on sensing behavior for Fe3+ and Al3+ metal ions with trace amounts of 1.05 × 10-7 and 1.13 × 10-7 mol/L, respectively. Experimental methods and theoretical calculations were employed to elucidate the sensing mechanism in detail.

Interferon-induced Transmembrane Protein 3 Prevents Acute Influenza Pathogenesis in Mice.

OBJECTIVE: Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) is an important member of the IFITM family. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its antiviral action have not been completely elucidated. Recent studies on IFITM3, particularly those focused on innate antiviral defense mechanisms, have shown that IFITM3 affects the body's adaptive immune response. The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of IFITM3 proteins to immune control of influenza infection in vivo. METHODS: We performed proteomics, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemistry analysis and used bioinformatics tools to systematically compare and analyze the differences in natural killer (NK) cell numbers, their activation, and their immune function in the lungs of Ifitm3-/- and wild-type mice. RESULTS: Ifitm3-/- mice developed more severe inflammation and apoptotic responses compared to wild-type mice. Moreover, the NK cell activation was higher in the lungs of Ifitm3-/- mice during acute influenza infection. CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results, we speculate that the NK cells are more readily activated in the absence of IFITM3, increasing mortality in Ifitm3-/- mice.

Effects of temperature and relative humidity on the number of outpatients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and their interaction effect in Lanzhou, China / 北京大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To understand the relationships of daily average temperature and relative humidity with outpatient visit frequency of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and whether temperature and relative humidity have a lag effect.@*METHODS@#The effects of daily average temperature, relative humidity, and their interaction in Lanzhou between January 2013 and December 2017 on the outpatient visit frequency of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients were analyzed using Poisson generalized linear regression model combined with distributed lag non-linear model.@*RESULTS@#There was a non-linear relationship between the daily average temperature and the outpatient visit frequency of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Between -12 °C and -8 °C, the outpatient visit frequency increased gradually with the decrease of the daily average temperature, and the outpatient visit frequency of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients increased by 11.60% per 1 °C of temperature drop. The daily average relative humidity also presented a non-linear effect on the outpatient visit frequency chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. When the daily average relative humidity was in the range of 15%-28%, the outpatient visit frequency increased gradually with the decrease of relative humidity, and the outpatient visit frequency of COPD patients increased by 37.05% for every 1% decrease of relative humidity. A synergistic effect was found between air temperature and relative humidity on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, that is, under different relative humidity, the effect of air temperature was different. When the daily average relative humidity ≤ 50% and the daily average temperature≤11 °C, the effect of air temperature was the most obvious. For every 1 °C drop in temperature, the daily out-patient visit frequency of the whole population increased by 12.68% (5.62% in males and 7.56% in females; 5.24% in population < 65 years and 14.74% in population ≥ 65 years). When the daily average relative humidity > 50% and the daily average temperature ≤ 11 °C, the daily outpatient visit frequency of the whole population increased by 9.00% for every 1 °C drop in temperature (< 65 years, 7.11%; ≥65 years, 10.93%). When the daily average temperature > 11 °C, the temperature had no effect on the daily outpatient visit frequency of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients under different relative humidity.@*CONCLUSION@#The presence of a certain extent of interaction is observed between daily average temperature and relative humidity. Low-temperature and dry environment (relative humidity ≤50%, temperature ≤11 °C) as well as low-temperature and high-humidity environment (relative humidity > 50%, temperature ≤11 °C) can both increase the risk of outpatient visit in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

Interferon-induced Transmembrane Protein 3 Prevents Acute Influenza Pathogenesis in Mice / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

Objective@#Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) is an important member of the IFITM family. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its antiviral action have not been completely elucidated. Recent studies on IFITM3, particularly those focused on innate antiviral defense mechanisms, have shown that IFITM3 affects the body's adaptive immune response. The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of IFITM3 proteins to immune control of influenza infection .@*Methods@#We performed proteomics, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemistry analysis and used bioinformatics tools to systematically compare and analyze the differences in natural killer (NK) cell numbers, their activation, and their immune function in the lungs of -/- and wild-type mice.@*Results@#-/- mice developed more severe inflammation and apoptotic responses compared to wild-type mice. Moreover, the NK cell activation was higher in the lungs of -/- mice during acute influenza infection.@*Conclusions@#Based on our results, we speculate that the NK cells are more readily activated in the absence of IFITM3, increasing mortality in -/- mice.

The connection between the night pain of patients with rotator cuff tears and circadian clock / 医学研究生学报

Patients with rotator cuff tears often have repeated irregular neck and shoulder pain, and all of them are aggravated at night. The patient is very painful and cannot suffer from lateral position. Most of them cannot or do not do the exercises such as stretching the elbow and bending the arm, which seriously affect sleep. Numerous studies have shown that in addition to inflammation, the two-way interaction to the circadian clock, the circadian clock also regulated many aspects of the immune system. And the mechanism of night pain caused by rotator cuff injury was related to factors such as inflammation of the acromion sac. This suggests that the night pain of rotator cuff tears may have a circadian rhythm. This article mainly reviews the mechanism of night pain caused by rotator cuff tears.

Analysis of limb swelling and pain caused by a tourniquet after total knee arthroplasty / 医学研究生学报

The advantages of the tourniquet in total knee arthroplasty are favored by surgeons. However, tourniquets can aggravate the swelling and pain of postoperative limbs，which is not good for early functional exercise. Researchers conducted many related studies which only stayed in clinical manifestations and did not clarify the causes and mechanisms of swelling and pain，So there are no positive effect on the prevention and treatment of swelling and pain. Tourniquets can cause ischemia, hypoxia and reperfusion injury in limbs, leading to local tissue inflammatory reactions, vascular injury, microcirculatory disorders, abnormal coagulation, deep venous thrombosis, lymphatic drainage disorders, joint cavity occult hemorrhage, effusion and the damage of distant organs, which eventually exacerbated the degree of swelling and pain of the limb. Therefore, the above factors are reviewed in this article.

Calcitriol enhances pyrazinamide treatment of murine tuberculosis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Background@#Tuberculosis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in humans worldwide. There is an urgent need for new and effective drugs to treat tuberculosis and shorten the duration of tuberculosis therapy. 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 (1,25 (OH)2D3) has been reported to have a synergistic effect with pyrazinamide (PZA) in killing tubercle bacilli in vitro. The addition of 1,25 (OH)2D3 to standard tuberculosis treatment should benefit patients if the adjunctive drug has a synergistic effect in vivo. Thus, in this study, calcitriol (bioactive 1,25 (OH)2D3) was administered to mice undergoing treatment for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection with PZA, a first-line anti-tuberculosis drug, to determine whether vitamin D3 enhances the therapeutic effect.@*Methods@#C57BL/6 female mice were infected with the M.tb H37Rv strain through aerosol exposure. Calcitriol and PZA, either alone or in combination, were orally administered to the M.tb infected mice. The effect of calcitriol on PZA activity was determined by evaluating the bacterial burden and analyzing the histopathological lesions in the lungs and spleen. To investigate the expression of inflammatory cytokines and anti-microbial peptide genes, we determined the transcriptional levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-4 (IL-4), mouse β-defensin-2 (mBD2), and cathelicidin LL-37 through real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The protein levels of IFN-γ were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Differences between groups were analyzed with independent samples t-test or one-way analysis of variance.@*Results@#Calcitriol alone had little effect on tuberculosis infection, whereas PZA, compared with saline control treatment, decreased the bacterial burden (spleens: PZA vs. saline, 4.82 ± 0.22 vs. 5.22 ± 0.40 Log10 colony-forming units [CFU]/gram, t = 2.13, P < 0.05; lungs: PZA vs. saline, 5.55 ± 0.15 vs. 6.83 ± 0.46 Log10 CFU/gram, t = 6.56, P < 0.01) and pathological lesions in the lungs. Simultaneous administration of calcitriol with PZA, compared with PZA alone, decreased the bacterial load (spleen: calcitriol + PZA vs. PZA, 4.37 ± 0.13 vs. 4.82 ± 0.22 Log10 CFU/gram, t = 4.36, P < 0.01; lung: calcitriol + PZA vs. PZA, 5.03 ± 0.32 vs. 5.55 ± 0.15 Log10 CFU/gram, t = 3.58, P < 0.01) and attenuated the lung lesions (gross pathological score: calcitriol + PZA vs. PZA, 3.25 ± 0.50 vs. 2.50 ± 0.58, t = 1.96, P < 0.05; affected area of total lung area: calcitriol + PZA vs. PZA, 30.75% ± 6.50% vs. 21.55% ± 2.99%, t = 2.66, P < 0.05). Further studies demonstrated calcitriol significantly increased the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 but suppressed production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IFN-γ (IL-4: calcitriol vs. saline, 5.69 ± 0.50 vs. 2.80 ± 0.56 fold of control, t= 6.74, P < 0.01; IFN-γ: calcitriol vs. saline, 1.36 ± 0.11 vs. 4.13 ± 0.83 fold of control, t= 5.77, P < 0.01). In addition, calcitriol alone or in combination with PZA significantly enhanced the transcriptional level of anti-microbial peptides (cathelicidin LL-37: calcitriol vs. saline, 10.59 ± 1.03 vs. 2.80 ± 0.90 fold of control, t = 9.85, P < 0.01; mBD2: calcitriol vs. saline, 7.92 ± 0.62 vs. 1.79 ± 0.45 fold of control, t = 13.82, P < 0.01), whereas PZA exerted a negative effect on anti-microbial peptide gene expression.@*Conclusions@#Calcitriol as adjunctive treatment can result in beneficial treatment outcomes in M.tb infection by suppressing the inflammatory response and up-regulating the expression of anti-microbial peptides. These results indicate the feasibility of using calcitriol adjunctively with standard chemotherapy for the treatment of M.tb infection.

Advance in Minocycline for Spinal Cord Injury (review) / 中国康复理论与实践

The treatment of spinal cord injury has been the research priorities in basic and clinical medicine. This article described the mechanism of minocycline in treating spinal cord injury, including antioxidant activity, reduction of apoptosis, anti-inflammatory activity and selective regulation of microglia activation, and recent advances in clinical trials of minocycline. Minocycline targets multiple secondary injury mechanisms to promote the recovery of spinal cord injury, and further basic and clinical research will maximize the efficacy of minocycline.

Calcitriol enhances pyrazinamide treatment of murine tuberculosis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Tuberculosis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in humans worldwide. There is an urgent need for new and effective drugs to treat tuberculosis and shorten the duration of tuberculosis therapy. 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 (1,25 (OH)2D3) has been reported to have a synergistic effect with pyrazinamide (PZA) in killing tubercle bacilli in vitro. The addition of 1,25 (OH)2D3 to standard tuberculosis treatment should benefit patients if the adjunctive drug has a synergistic effect in vivo. Thus, in this study, calcitriol (bioactive 1,25 (OH)2D3) was administered to mice undergoing treatment for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) infection with PZA, a first-line anti-tuberculosis drug, to determine whether vitamin D3 enhances the therapeutic effect.@*METHODS@#C57BL/6 female mice were infected with the M.tb H37Rv strain through aerosol exposure. Calcitriol and PZA, either alone or in combination, were orally administered to the M.tb infected mice. The effect of calcitriol on PZA activity was determined by evaluating the bacterial burden and analyzing the histopathological lesions in the lungs and spleen. To investigate the expression of inflammatory cytokines and anti-microbial peptide genes, we determined the transcriptional levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-4 (IL-4), mouse β-defensin-2 (mBD2), and cathelicidin LL-37 through real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The protein levels of IFN-γ were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Differences between groups were analyzed with independent samples t-test or one-way analysis of variance.@*RESULTS@#Calcitriol alone had little effect on tuberculosis infection, whereas PZA, compared with saline control treatment, decreased the bacterial burden (spleens: PZA vs. saline, 4.82 ± 0.22 vs. 5.22 ± 0.40 Log10 colony-forming units [CFU]/gram, t = 2.13, P < 0.05; lungs: PZA vs. saline, 5.55 ± 0.15 vs. 6.83 ± 0.46 Log10 CFU/gram, t = 6.56, P < 0.01) and pathological lesions in the lungs. Simultaneous administration of calcitriol with PZA, compared with PZA alone, decreased the bacterial load (spleen: calcitriol + PZA vs. PZA, 4.37 ± 0.13 vs. 4.82 ± 0.22 Log10 CFU/gram, t = 4.36, P < 0.01; lung: calcitriol + PZA vs. PZA, 5.03 ± 0.32 vs. 5.55 ± 0.15 Log10 CFU/gram, t = 3.58, P < 0.01) and attenuated the lung lesions (gross pathological score: calcitriol + PZA vs. PZA, 3.25 ± 0.50 vs. 2.50 ± 0.58, t = 1.96, P < 0.05; affected area of total lung area: calcitriol + PZA vs. PZA, 30.75% ± 6.50% vs. 21.55% ± 2.99%, t = 2.66, P < 0.05). Further studies demonstrated calcitriol significantly increased the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 but suppressed production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IFN-γ (IL-4: calcitriol vs. saline, 5.69 ± 0.50 vs. 2.80 ± 0.56 fold of control, t = 6.74, P < 0.01; IFN-γ: calcitriol vs. saline, 1.36 ± 0.11 vs. 4.13 ± 0.83 fold of control, t = 5.77, P < 0.01). In addition, calcitriol alone or in combination with PZA significantly enhanced the transcriptional level of anti-microbial peptides (cathelicidin LL-37: calcitriol vs. saline, 10.59 ± 1.03 vs. 2.80 ± 0.90 fold of control, t = 9.85, P < 0.01; mBD2: calcitriol vs. saline, 7.92 ± 0.62 vs. 1.79 ± 0.45 fold of control, t = 13.82, P < 0.01), whereas PZA exerted a negative effect on anti-microbial peptide gene expression.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Calcitriol as adjunctive treatment can result in beneficial treatment outcomes in M.tb infection by suppressing the inflammatory response and up-regulating the expression of anti-microbial peptides. These results indicate the feasibility of using calcitriol adjunctively with standard chemotherapy for the treatment of M.tb infection.

miR-590-3p is a novel microRNA which suppresses osteosarcoma progression by targeting SOX9.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone malignancy and arises primarily in the metaphyseal ends of long bones in children and adolescents. m iR-590 has been found to have anti-tumor effects in many other cancers. However, the role of miR-590-3p in osteosarcoma is poorly understood. In this study, we show that miR-590-3p was significantly decreased both in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines, suggesting a potential role of miR-590-3p in osteosarcoma. Over-expression of miR-590-3p inhibited U2OS cell viability as shown by the CCK-8 assay and clonogenic assay. Ki-67 immunofluorescence staining and cell cycle analysis revealed that up-regulation of miR-590-3p inhibited U2OS cell proliferation. Transfection with miR-590-3p mimics suppressed PCNA, Cyclin D1 and CDK4 expression and increased p53 and p21 expression. In addition, U2OS cells transfected with miR-590-3p mimics exhibited reduced cell invasion and migration, characterized by the wound healing assay and transwell assay. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that SOX9 was a potential target of miR-590-3p. SOX9 was up-regulated in osteosarcoma tissues. Transfection with miR-590-3p mimics markedly suppressed SOX9 expression both at the mRNA level and protein level. Dual luciferase assay validated the direct binding site of miR-590-3p on SOX9. Exogenous SOX9 expression in U2OS cells at least partially reversed the effects of miR-590-3p in U2OS cells. Enforced SOX9 expression restored cell viability in osteosarcoma cells transfected with miR-590-3p mimics. In addition, over-expression of SOX9 restored decreased cell metastasis properties caused by transfection with miR-590-3p mimics in osteosarcoma cells. In summary, these results indicated that miR-590-3p is an anti-cancer miRNA that can inhibit proliferation and metastasis in osteosarcoma cells. Our findings provide a novel insight into the biological function of miR-590-3p in osteosarcoma and SOX9 may be a potential therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.

The application of serum endotoxin detection in the diagnosis of artificial prosthetic joint loosening / 医学研究生学报

Objective The dynamic detection of endotoxin is of great significance for the early diagnosis and treatment of prosthesis loosening after joint replacement. This study aimed to explore and analyze the clinical significance and efficacy of endotoxin detection in prosthetic joint loosening after joint replacement.Methods Fifty-eight patients who underwent arthroplasty in the department of orthopedics in Nanjing General Hospital from January 2015 to June 2016 were selected for prospective study. The patients were divided into the infection loosening group (patients with infectious loosening after arthroplasty, n=15), the aseptic loosening group (patients with aseptic loosening of after arthroplasty, n=23) and the control group (patients were normal after arthroplasty, n=20) according to the postoperative complications. Endotoxin was detected with MB-80 microbial dynamic rapid detection system. We compared the endotoxin level and the ROC curve was made to acquire the sensitivity and specificity under the different cut-off values. Eventually find the best diagnostic threshold.Results The levels of endotoxin in the infection loosening group and the aseptic loosening group \[(0.56±0.11, 0.49±0.08) ng/mL\] were significantly higher than that in the control group \[(0.24±0.06) ng/mL\]. The difference was statistically significant (P0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that when the serum endotoxin concentration was 0.36 ng/mL, the Youden index was the highest, which could be the best cut-off value for diagnosis. It had the best accuracy to judge the prosthesis loosening with a sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 88.2%.Conclusion The endotoxin can be a good indicator for early diagnosis of prosthesis looseness. It is helpful to the diagnosis of the prosthesis loosening after arthroplasty.

Comparison of the outcome of intra-articular injection of cocktail and betamethasone injection after rotator cuff repair / 医学研究生学报

Objective Shoulder surgery is associated with moderate to severe pain, but there is a lack of consensus on the best analgesic method. This study was conducted to evaluate whether intra-articular injections of cocktails (betamethasone hydrochloride combined with ropivacaine) achieved better clinical effects than betamethasone hydrochloride alone after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.Methods Eighty-six patients with rotator cuff repair under arthroscopy in our hospital from March 2017 to October 2017 were selected and divided into experiment group( ropivacaine75 mg+(betamethasone hydrochloride 2 mL) and control group((betamethasone hydrochloride 4 mL), each group 43. Visual acuity score(VAS) and the satisfaction of patients were evaluated before operation and at 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 h postoperatively.Results There was no significant difference in VAS before operation and 48 h after operation between experimental group and control group (P>0.05). But at 4, 8, 12 and 24 h after operation the VAS in experimental group is lower than that in control group(P0.05).Conclusion Cocktail (betamethasone combined with ropivacaine) intra-articular injection can significantly reduce the postoperative earlier pain within 24 hours and can improve the satisfaction of patients.

The relationship between different tourniquet pressures in total knee arthroplasty and the pain and swelling of the affected limb after surgery / 医学研究生学报

Objective The use of tourniquets in total knee arthroplasty has been controversial. Many studies have focused only on the different time courses and neglected the effects of pressures. Currently,there is no study explaining the mechanism of tourniquet-induced injury. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of different tourniquet pressures on pain and swelling after total knee arthroplasty and to explore the mechanism of injury. Methods Ninety-six patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty at Nanjing General Hospital from June 2017 to December 2017 were randomly as-signed to 240 mmHg group (low pressure),270 mmHg group (medi- um pressure),and 300 mmHg group (high pressure). The patient's pain and thigh circumference were measured before and 1-2 days after surgery. Blood samples were taken before and 3,8,and 24 hours after surgery. Superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1),prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and myoglobin were detected,analysed and compared. Results In the perspective of the pain and swelling of affected limb after surgery,the 300 mmHg group (73.24±10.51) was significantly different from the 240 mmHg group (58.18±9.66) and the 270mmHg group (63.06±10.06). In the perspective of the SOD1 level in serum,the 300mmHg group (97.77±13.82) was significant-ly different from the 240mmHg group (63.72±15.02) and the 270 mmHg group (70.58±5.85) at 3h after surgery,and then the diver-gence was gradually decreased. In the perspective of the PGE2 level in serum,the 300 mmHg group (478.05±35.80) was significantly different from the 240mmHg group (334.42±33.12) and the 270mmHg group (391.85±19.41) at 3h after surgery,and the divergence was started to decrease after 8 h. In the perspective of the myoglobin level in serum,the 300 mmHg group (30.43±9.79) was also sig-nificantly different from the 240 mmHg group (17.58±1.93) and the 270 mmHg group (22.28±4.21) at 8 h after operation,the diver-gence was started to decrease after 24 h. which began to decrease after 24 h. Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant cor-relation between pain (correlation coefficient 0.518,P<0.001),swelling (correlation coefficient 0.345,P<0.05) and stress after sur-gery. Conclusion The pain and swelling of the affected limb is positively correlated with the pressure of the tourniquet during the operation. Muscle necrosis is the main mechanism of the injury. Oxidative stress occurs in the ischemic phase and inflammation occurs in the reperfusion phase.

The therapeutic effect between metal augment and impacted bone grafting in the hip revision of acetabular bone defect / 医学研究生学报

Objective The application of metal augments in the revision of total hip arthroplasty(THA)has achieved re-markable results in the treatment of bone defects.However,there are limited studies compared this effective method with the traditional treatment.The purpose of this article is to investigate the curative effect of both metal augmentation and impacted bone grafting in the revision of acetabular bone defect. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 20 patients(20 hips)with bone defects after THA in Au-thority of Nanjing General Hospital of Nanjing Military Region from August 2010 to February 2017.These 20 patients were allocated into 2 groups:impacted bone grafting group(n=11,filling acetabular bone defect with autogenous iliac bone and artificial bone)and metal aug-mentation group(n=9,filling acetabular bone defect with metal aug-ment).The duration of surgery,blood loss and the hospital for special surgery knee score(HSS)were compared between these two groups and the Harris score was applied to evaluate the hip function and full weight bearing. Results The surgery duration and blood loss of impacted bone grafting group were significantly increased when compared with the metal augmentation group(44.5±7.82 min vs 36.22±5.19 min and 431.82±57.76 mL vs 333.33±72.80 mL respec-tively).there were 3 cases showed mild bone resorption in the I regions in the impacted bone grafting group, while only one case showed mild bone resorption in the II region in the metal augmentation group.The HSS scores in the metal augmentation group were higher than those in the impacted bone grafting group at the time of postoperative 2 weeks(43.89±2.76 vs 40.82±4.42), 3 months (49.89±2.03 vs 45.27±3.90)and 6 months(53.44±2.46 vs 50.55±3.67), the differences were statistically significant(P<0.001). The Harris scores in the metal augmentation group were higher than those in the impacted bone grafting group(P<0.01).The metal augmentation group had a shorter time of getting out of bed compared with the impacted bone grafting group(P<0.01). Conclusion For those patients with upper acetabular bone defect,revision surgery using metal augments can save the operation time.Meanwhile, it is also superior to the impacted bone grafting in the early prosthesis stability and bone ingrowth,and thus enables to shorten the time on getting out of bed and promote functional.