Case report: A case of giant accessory hepatic lobe torsion combined with left hepatic vein branch thrombosis in a child.

The accessory hepatic lobe (AHL) is a rare congenital malformation of the hepatic tissue, among which the giant AHL is the rarest in children. Patients without complications are usually asymptomatic, and most auxiliary examinations cannot provide a definitive preoperative diagnosis. Surgical procedure is the only recommended management for patients who suffered from the complications of AHL. We report the case of a rare pediatric giant AHL torsion combined with left hepatic vein branch thrombosis which was successfully treated by laparoscopic lobectomy followed by excision of AHL.

[Diagnostic effect of bronchoalveolar lavage in early lung injury caused by enterogenic infection in rat].

OBJECTIVE: To study the diagnostic effect of bronchoalveolar lavage in early lung injury by observing changes in inflammatory mediators in early lung injury caused by enterogenic infection. METHODS: Eighty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into infection group and sham-operation group. Cecal ligation and perforation was utilized to produce abdominal infection in rats. Six groups were sacrificed respectively at 0, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 hours after operation. The differential cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was assessed. The concentrations of endotoxin, phospholipase A2 (PLA2) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in BALF, lung and plasma were assayed. RESULTS: The neutrophil percentage of BALF increased progressively. The concentrations of endotoxin, PLA2 and TNF-alpha in BALF, lung and plasma were significantly increased. The levels of endotoxin and PLA2 in lung tissue were respectively correlated positively with those in BALF and plasma (BALF and lung: r=0.904, P<0.05; BALF and plasma: r=0.895, P<0.05; lung and plasma: r=0.946, P<0.01). Significant positive correlation was also present between the TNF-alpha levels in BALF and lung (r=0.952 P<0.01), but not between the TNF-alpha level in plasma and that in lung or BALF (r=0.684, r=0.608, both P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The examinations of bronchoalveolar lavage may help discover early lung injury caused by enterogenic infection.

Cloning, Expression and Biological Activity of VEGI(151), a Novel Vascular Endothelial Cell Growth Inhibitor.

VEGI(vascular endothelial cell growth inhibitor) is a novel cytokine which belongs to the TNF super-family. In this study, the VEGI gene from ECV304 cells was cloned. A truncated form of VEGI, where 23 amino acids from N-terminal were deleted and named VEGI(151), was expressed in E.coli with 25.5% of expression rate. The purity of VEGI(151) reached 92.5% after purification. VEGI(151) showed significant inhibitory effect on endothelial cells. IC(50) of VEGI151 was 10 mg/L at 24 h. At the concentration of 0.613 mg/L, VEGI(151) induced apoptosis of endothelial cells within 36 h. However, neither stimulatory effect nor inhibitory effect of VEGI(151) was detected on tumor cells(A549 HepG2 Hela)cultured in vitro. These results suggest that endothelial cells was the main target cells of VEGI(151). Our findings indicate that VEGI(151) is a potential therapeutic drug on angiogenic disease and cancer.