Xuebijing Injection Regulates Mitochondrial N-formyl Peptides/NLRP3 Inflammatory Pathway to Treat Severe Acute Pancreatitis in Rats / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effect of Xuebijing injection （XBJ） on sodium taurocholate （Na-Tc）-induced severe acute pancreatitis （SAP） in rats. MethodForty rats were randomly assigned into 5 groups： sham operation group， SAP model group， and low-， medium-， and high-dose （4， 8， 12 mL·kg·d-1， respectively） XBJ groups. SAP model was established by retrograde injection of Na-Tc （1 mL·kg-1） into the biliary and pancreatic ducts. XBJ was injected intraperitoneally 3 days before and 0.5 h after modeling. The ascitic fluid volume and the pancreas weight-to-body weight ratio were measured. The pathological changes of pancreatic tissue were observed via hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. The protein levels of formyl peptide receptor 1 （FPR1） and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 （NLRP3） in pancreatic tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry. Western blot was employed to determine the expression levels of NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chains 1-6 （MT-ND1， MT-ND2， MT-ND3， MT-ND4， MT-ND5， and MT-ND6） in rat plasma. ResultCompared with sham operation group， the SAP model group showcased increased ascitic fluid volume and pancreas weight-to-body weight ratio （P<0.05）， serious lesions in pancreatic tissue， increased total pathological score （P<0.05）， and up-regulated protein levels of FPR1 and NLRP3 in pancreatic tissue （P<0.05）. The model group had lower MT-ND2 level （P<0.05） and higher MT-ND1， MT-ND3， and MT-ND6 levels in plasma （P<0.05） than the sham operation group， while MT-ND4 and MT-ND5 had no significant differences between the two groups. Compared with SAP model group， the XBJ treatment decreased ascitic fluid volume and pancreas weight-to-body weight ratio （P<0.01）， ameliorated pancreatic lesions， and down-regulated the protein levels of FPR1 and NLRP3 in pancreatic tissue （P<0.01）. The treatments， especially high-dose XBJ （P<0.01）， down-regulated the expression of MT-ND1 （P<0.01）， MT-ND3 （P<0.01）， MT-ND6 （P<0.01）， and MT-ND4 and did not change that of MT-ND5. ConclusionXBJ may antagonize partial mitochondrial N-formyl peptides and excessive inflammatory response mediated by FPR1/NLRP3 to treat SAP in rats.

Advances in new antivirals for chronic hepatitis B / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a global health burden. Timely and effective antiviral therapy is beneficial for patients with HBV infection. With existing antiviral drugs, including nucleos(t)ide analogs and interferon-alfa, patients can achieve viral suppression with improved prognosis. However, the rate of hepatitis B surface antigen loss is low. To achieve a functional cure and even complete cure in chronic hepatitis B patients, new antivirals need to be developed. In this review, we summarized the advantages and disadvantages of existing antiviral drugs and focused on new antivirals including direct-acting antiviral drugs and immunotherapeutic approaches.

Treatment status and meditation of benign gallbladder diseases / 中华消化外科杂志

Benign gallbladder diseases are common diseases in general surgery, including gallstones, polypoid lesions, cholecystitis, etc. In China, the treatment of benign gallbladder diseases is still not standardized, which mainly shows in following aspects: (1)the tendency of cholecystectomy to all gallbladder diseases may result in the incidence of abdominal pain, distension, diarrhea and bile duct injury after surgery; (2)the attitude of "no-surgery" in which the standard cholecystectomy fails to implement in time for the benign gallbladder diseases with potential high-risk factors for gallbladder cancer, as a result, patients develop occurrence of gallbladder cancer. Especially, gallbladder sparing surgery is an unscientific surgery for benign gallbladder diseases, the gallbladder may become a high-risk factor for cancer after the operation. Implementation of standard cholecystectomy in time for benign gallbladder diseases with potential high risk gallbladder cancer can not only significantly reduce the incidence of gallbladder cancer, but also significantly improve the early diagnosis and the prognosis. Based on current literatures, the authors analyze the treatment status of benign gallbladder diseases, and investigate the disputes and problems in surgical indications, operation time and the selection of treatments of benign gallbladder diseases.

Therapeutic Effect of Modified Yinchenhao Tang on Cholestatic Liver Disease in Rats / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective::To investigate the protective effect of modified Yinchenhao Tang on α-isothiocyanate(ANIT)-induced cholestatic liver disease (CSLD). Method::Wistar rats were randomly divided into 7 groups: blank control group, model control group, compound Glycyrrhizin capsules group(22.5, 45 mg·kg-1), modified Yinchenhao Tang low, middle and high dose groups(4.1, 8.1, 16.2 g·kg-1). A model of cholestatic liver injury was prepared by intragastric administration of ANIT (100 mg·kg-1). Glycyrrhizin capsules and modified Yinchenhao Tang were administered intragastrically on the second day of modeling for 4 consecutive days. And bile duct intubation was performed on the fifth day to measure the bile flow rate of the rats, and serum was taken to test the total bilirubin(TBIL), direct bilirubin(DBIL), indirect bilirubin(IBIL), alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and total bile acid(TBA) serological indicators of each group. Pathological changes of liver tissues were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The expression levels of G protein-coupled bile acid receptor(TGR5), nucleotide binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3(NLRP3) and cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-1(Caspase-1) proteins in the iver tissues were detected by Western blot. Result::Compared with the blank control group, bile flow rate in the model group decreased significantly(P<0.01). TBIL, DBIL, IBIL, ALT and TBA level in serum were significantly increased(P<0.01), liver tissue lesions were severe, and significantly increased the expression of liver tissue TGR5 and Caspase-1.Compare with model group, the compound Glycyrrhizin capsules group had no significant effect on bile flow rate and TBIL, DBIL, IBIL, ALT and TBA level in serum. Bile flow rate increased and TBIL, DBIL, IBIL, ALT and TBA level in serum decreased significantly in modified Yinchenhao Tang high dose group. The compound Glycyrrhizin capsules group and modified Yinchenhao Tang group have different extents of improvement the pathological changes of the lung tissues, and the protein expression of TGR5 and Caspase-1 were significantly decreased in the liver tissue(P<0.01). Conclusion::Modified Yinchenhao Tang can effectively treat CSLD in rats, and its mechanism may be related to bile acid and bile acid receptor TGR5-mediated inflammatory factors.

Alternatively spliced isoforms reveal a novel type of PTB domain in CCM2 protein.

Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) is a microvascular disorder in the central nervous system. Despite tremendous efforts, the causal genetic mutation in some CCM patients has not be identified, raising the possibility of an unknown CCM locus. The CCM2/MGC4607 gene has been identified as one of three known genes causing CCMs. In this report, we defined a total of 29 novel exons and 4 novel promoters in CCM2 genomic structure and subsequently identified a total of 50 new alternative spliced isoforms of CCM2 which eventually generated 22 novel protein isoforms. Genetic analysis of CCM2 isoforms revealed that the CCM2 isoforms can be classified into two groups based on their alternative promoters and alternative start codon exons. Our data demonstrated that CCM2 isoforms not only are specific in their subcellular compartmentation but also have distinct cellular expression patterns among various tissues and cells, indicating the pleiotropic cellular roles of CCM2 through their multiple isoforms. In fact, the complexity of the CCM2 genomic structure was reflected by the multiple layers of regulation of CCM2 expression patterns. At the transcriptional level, it is accomplished by alternative promoters, alternative splicing, and multiple transcriptional start sites and termination sites; while at the translational level, it is carried out with various cellular functions with a distinguishable CCM2 protein group pattern, specified abundance and composition of selective isoforms in a cell and tissue specific fashion. Through experimentation, we discovered a unique phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain, namely atypical phosphotyrosine binding (aPTB) domain. Some long CCM2 isoform proteins contain both classes of PTB domains, making them a dual PTB domain-containing protein. Both CCM1 and CCM3 can bind competitively to this aPTB domain, indicating CCM2 as the cornerstone for CCM signaling complex (CSC).

DMBT1 suppresses progression of gallbladder carcinoma through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by targeting PTEN.

Gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) is a highly lethal malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract. Despite extensive research, the underlying molecular mechanism of GBC remains largely unclear. Deleted in malignant brain tumors 1 (DMBT1) is low-expression during cancer progression and as a potential tumor-suppressor gene in various types of cancer. However, its role in Gallbladder cancer remains poorly understood. Here, we found that DMBT1 was significantly low-expression and deletion of copy number in GBC tissues by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Overexpression of DMBT1 impaired survival, promoted apoptosis in GBC cells in vitro, and inhibited tumor progression in vivo. Further study of underlying mechanisms demonstrated that DMBT1 combined with PTEN which could stabilize PTEN protein, resulting in inhibiting the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Our study revealed a new sight of DMBT1 as a tumor-suppressor gene on the PI3K/AKT pathway in GBC, which may be a potential therapeutic target for improving treatment.

Value and evaluation of hilar surgical approach in hilar biliary stricture / 中国实用外科杂志

Hilar biliary stricture is usually divided into malignant stricture and benign stricture. How to effectively deal with hilar biliary stricture has always been the focus in biliary surgery. Because it involves bile duct, hepatic artery,portal vein and liver parenchyma, the choice of surgical path is very important. The approach based on perihilar surgical technique can better expose the operative area and have the advantage of performing precise treatment, thus effectively improving the radical cure rate of hilar cholangiocarcinoma and reducing the surgical difficulty.

Preoperative detection of liver functional reserve in patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma using the indocyanine green retention test / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective To study the use of preoperative indocyanine green retention test at 15 minutes (ICG R15) in the prediction of liver functional reserve in patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma (HCCA).Methods The clinical data of 62 patients with HCCA treated in our department from March 2016 to March 2018 was reviewed.The relationship between preoperative ICG R15 and postoperative hepatic insufficiency was analyzed.The relationship between preoperative ICG R15 and Child-Pugh scoring was also studied.Univariate analysis was used to evaluate the risk factors of postoperative liver dysfunction.Logistic regression was used to assess the independent risk factors of postoperative liver dysfunction.The regression equation between independent risk factors and postoperative liver dysfunction was established.Results Among the 62 patients,ICG R15 was less than 10.0％ in 26 patients,between 10.0％ and 19.0％ in 17 patients,between 20.0％ and 29.0％ in 9 patients,between 30.0％ and 39.0％ in 5 patients,and over 40.0％ in 5 patients.There were 29 patients with a Child-Pugh A grading and 33 patients with a Child-Pugh B grading in the preoperative evaluation of liver function.The Wilcoxon W rank sum test was used to compare the preoperative ICG R15 in patients with Child-Pugh grading A and B separately.The ICG R15 in Child-Pugh grading A patients was significantly lower than those in Child-Pugh B grading patients (P ＜0.05).There were no significant differences in age,gender,history of previous liver diseases,duration of operation,and intraoperative blood loss (P ＞ 0.05) between the normal liver function group and the liver dysfunction group.However,there was a significant difference in the preoperative ICG R15 and preoperative bilirubin levels (P ＜ 0.05) between the two groups.The preoperative ICG R15 and preoperative bilirubin levels were significant risk factors of postoperative hepatic insufficiency.Regression analysis suggested that preoperative ICG R15 level was an independent risk factor of postoperative hepatic insufficiency (P ＜ 0.05).A regression equation:logit(P) =0.185 × preoperative ICG R15-3.152 could be constructed.Conclusions ICG R15 is an ideal clinical indicator for evaluation of preoperative liver functional reserve in patients with HCCA.It predicted the recovery of postoperative liver function.

Clinical study of value of serum Klotho level of elderly donors in predicting postoperative renal graft function in recipients / 器官移植

Objective To explore the feasibility of serum Klotho level in the elderly donors to predict the renal graft function in the recipients. Methods Clinical data of 16 elderly donors and 27 recipients undergoing renal transplantation were collected. The general status of the recipients was observed. The levels of serum Klotho and serum creatinine (Scr) in the elderly donors were measured on the day of renal transplantation. The Scr levels in the recipients were measured at postoperative 1, 3 and 12 months respectively. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated. The correlation between the serum Klotho level of the donors and postoperative graft function of the recipients was analyzed. Results The cold ischemia time during renal transplantation was (649±245) min. The incidence rate of delayed graft function (DGF) was 26%. The incidence rate of acute rejection was 7%. In the elderly donors, the serum Klotho level was 537 (245-793) pg/mL and the Scr level was (164±62) μmol/L. At postoperative 1, 3 and 12 months, the Scr levels in the recipients were (136±47), (132±43) and (133±46) μmol/L, respectively. The corresponding eGFR was (52±20), (52±19) and (53±21) mL/(min?1.73m2), respectively. The serum Klotho level in the elderly donors was negatively correlated with the renal graft function at postoperative 1 month in the recipients (P < 0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of serum Klotho level in predicting the renal graft insufficiency at postoperative 1 month were 0.909 and 0.769. Conclusions The preoperative serum Klotho level in the elderly donors have predictive value for renal graft function in the recipients at postoperative 1 month.

Effects of downregulation of HIF-2α gene on biological behaviors of hepatoma cells induced by hypoxia in vitro / 中国免疫学杂志

Objective:To explore the effects of hypoxia-inducible factor 2α genes on under hypoxia on proliferation,apoptosis, cell cycle distribution and migration of invasiveness of human hepatocellular carcinoma cell HepG2.Methods: Human hepatoma cell line HepG2 induced by cobalt chloride (CoCl2) was selected as the research object,construction of siRNA specific carrier HIF-2α, transfection of HepG2 cells under hypoxia.Real-time PCR,Western blot method in the detection of before and after transfection in each group of HIF-2α mRNA and protein expression;MTT method to detect the proliferation of HepG2 cells before and after transfection;apoptosis rate and distribution of cell cycle of HepG2 cells before and after transfection were detected by flow cytometry;Transwell test was used to detect the invasion and migration ability of HepG2 cells before and after transfection.Results: Under hypoxia,significant increased HIF-2α expression in hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells.Specific transfection of HIF-2α siRNA in HepG2 cells after HIF-2α mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly inhibit cell proliferation decreased,apoptosis rate increased in the ratio of G0/G1 phase cells increased synthesis phase (S) and late (G2/M) synthesis cell ratio decreased,which in vitro invasion and migration of cells was inhibited.Conclusion:Expression of HIF-2α increases in hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells under hypoxia. Specific siRNA can be cut by HIF-2α gene expression in HepG2 cells under hypoxia,to inhibit HepG2 cell proliferation,invasion, migration,and change the distribution of cell cycle and induce its apoptosis.

Effect of DEK targeting silence on proliferation and cell cycle of human hepatoma HepG2 cells / 新乡医学院学报

Objective To study the influence of targeted silencing of DEK on the proliferation and cell cycle of human hepatoma cell lines.Methods The human hepatoma cells line HepG2 were routinely cuhured and the cells were divided into blank control group,siRNA control group and DEK siRNA group when the cells grew to 90％ tusion.The cells in blank control group were cultured normally without any treatment;the cells in siRNA control group and DEK siRNA group were transfected with siRNA expression vector and DEK siRNA expression vector mediated by LipofectamineTM2000 liposomes,respectively.The expression of DEK mRNA in HepG2 cells was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction;the expression of DEK and CyclinD1 protein in HepG2 cells was detected by Western blot;the proliferation of HepG2 cells was detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium method,and the cell cycle was observed by flow cytometry.Results The expression of DEK mRNA in the blank control group,siRNA control group and DEK siRNA group was 0.826 ±0.052,0.776 ±0.051 and 0.420 ±0.050 respectively;the expression of DEK protein in the blank control group,siRNA control group and DEK siRNA group was 0.691 ± 0.073,0.726±0.061 and 0.311 ±0.038 respectively;the expression of CyclinDl protein in the blank control group,siRNA cuntrol group and DEK siRNA group was 0.712 ± 0.069,0.780 ± 0.074 and 0.434 ± 0.039 respectively.The expressions of DEK mRNA,DEK protein and CyclinD1 protein in DEK siRNA group were significantly lower than those in the blank control group and siRNA control group (P ＜ 0.05);there was no statistic difference in the expression of DEK mRNA,DEK protein and CyclinD1 protein between the blank control group and siRNA control group(P ＜0.05).The proliferation ability of HepG2 cells in DEK siRNA group after transfection of 24,48,72,96,120 h was significantly lower than that in the blank control group and siRNA control group(P ＜0.05);there was no statistic difference in the proliferation ability of HepG2 cells between the blank control group and siRNA control group at each time point(P ＜ 0.05).The proportion of G0 + G1 phase cells in DEK siRNA group was significantly higher than that in the blank control group and siRNA control group(P ＜ 0.05);the proportions of S phase and G2 + M phase cells in DEK siRNA group were significantly lower than those in the blank control group and siRNA control group(P ＜ 0.05);there was no statistic difference in the proportion of G0 + G1 phase,S phase and G2 + M phase cells between the blank control group and siRNA control group (P ＜ 0.05).The result of Pearson correlation analysis showed that the expression of CyclinD1 protein was positively correlated with the expression of DEK mRNA and protein(r =0.909,0.899;P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion DEK siRNA can inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cells,and change the cell cycle distribution through down regulating the expression of DEK gene in HepG2 cells.This process may be related to the down regulation of the expression of CyclinD1.

Clinical observation of laser ablation combined with chemotherapy in postoperative colorectal cancers with liver metastasis.

BACKGROUND: This study is to evaluate the efficacy and adverse reaction of a combination therapy of chemotherapy and laser thermal ablation (LTA) on liver metastases from colorectal cancer. METHODS: Eighty-five cases colorectal cancer liver metastases were assigned to the treatment group (43 cases) and to the control group (42 cases). The treatment group patients received LTA combined with FOLFIRI regimen chemotherapy, and the control group patients only received FOLFIRI regimen chemotherapy. The curative effects, the survival rate and adverse reaction of the two groups were observed and evaluated. RESULTS: Response rate was 53.4% in the treatment group and 38.1% in the control group (P>0.05); disease control rate in the treatment group was 79.1%, higher than 64.3% in control group with significant difference (P<0.01); median progression free survival was 11.8 months in treatment group and 6.8 months in control group (P<0.01); The median overall survival time was 19.1 months in treatment group and 14.9 months in control group (P<0.05). Among the 113 lesions receiving LTA, 104 lesions (92%) were completely destroyed. The main complications of LTA were fever and local pain. The adverse effects between both groups showed no difference. CONCLUSIONS: LTA in combination with chemotherapy of colorectal carcinoma liver metastases is effective and well-tolerated.

A study on the correlations study among HOMA-IR, obesity and inflammatory factors among middle aged and elderly population / 预防医学

Objective To investigate the distribution of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index and its influencing factorsamong middle and old aged people with normal glucose and to provide the basis for early screening and prevention of type 2diabetes. Methods A total of 229 residents were selected with health records showed normal blood glucose (fasting bloodglucose < 7.0mmol/L, postprandial 2h blood glucose<11.1 mmol/L) and more than 40 years old from July, 2012 to June,2015. Height, weight, waist and hip circumference, and the fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin (FINS), lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL), uric acid, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin -6 (IL-6) were recorded to analyzethe distribution of HOMA-IR and its influencing factors. Results Totally 229 people were included, of which 113 were male(49.34%), 116 female(50.66%) . The average age was(63.58 + 8.85) years old. The average HOMA-IR index was 0.94(1.08) and there were 21 people that HOMA-IR exceed the standard (HOMA-IR≥2.68), accounting for 9.17%.TheHOMA-IR index of different gender, age, waist circumference, hip circumference, uric acid in the elderly had significantdifference (P < 0.05) .Multiple linear regression analysis showed that HOMA-IR index was positively correlated withfemale, waist circumference and IL-6 and was negatively correlated with age. Conclusion The possibility of IR was higherin women with relatively low age, female, central obesity and high IL-6 levels among the middle and old aged people withnormal blood glucose.

The value of MRI in diagnosis of synovial hemangioma / 实用放射学杂志

Objective To evaluate the MRI findings of synovial hemangioma.Methods Twenty-three patients with synovial hemangioma were analyzed retrospectively,and MRI characteristics were summarized.Results Of the 23 patients,there were localized type in 6 and diffuse type in 17.Localized tumors located in the articular synovial tissue and didn't invade articular capsule and peripheral tissues.T hey had envelope,well-defined margin and regular shape.5 cases showed heterogeneous signal with iso-intense or hypo-intense on T1WI,hyper-intense and internal patchy or multiple pinstripe hypo-intense on T2WI and fat-suppression sequence.Diffuse tumors distributed inside and outside the articulation,and invaded the articular capsule or peripheral tissues.17 cases were heterogeneous signal with iso-intense or hypo-intense and internal patchy or sinuous hyper-intense on T1WI,hyper-intense and internal patchy,nodular and multiple pinstripe hypo-intense on T2WI and fat-suppression sequence.Thick flow void of the vessels were showed in 6 cases and phlebolithes were showed in 3 cases.15 cases underwent contrast-enhanced scan,and the tumors showed patchy,nodular or tortuous vascular heterogeneous enhancement with internal patchy,nodular or cord-like non-enhanced areas.Conclusion Fatty-fibrous tissues and flow void of the vessels in the tumor are valuable MRI features for diagnosis of the synovial hemangioma.

Application of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as an emerging biomarker in the early diagnosis of acute renal injury following renal transplantation / 中华器官移植杂志

Objective To study the prognostic role of plasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) early after renal transplantation.Methods A total of 37 kidney recipients were enrolled from Department of Organ Transplantation,Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital within a 12-month period of time.Plasma NGAL was measured immediately before and at 6 and 12 h post-transplantation.Changes of serum creatinine were documented daily within the first week postoperation.Acute kidney injury (AKI)/graft rejection during the first week after transplantation was the outcome variable.Results The levels of serum NGAL in the 37 patients were (311.14 ± 102.69),(317.81 ± 107.28) and (312.16 ± 134.80) μg/L respectively immediately before and at 6 and 12 h post-transplantation.There was no significant difference in serum NGAL levels before and 6 h or 12 h after operation (P =0.70,and P =0.96).There were no significant differences in gender and age between the two groups (P =0.29,and P =0.20).There was significant difference in creatinine levels between the AKI group and the non-AKI group (P =0.002) and between pre-operation and 6 or 12 h postoperation.The preoperative levels of serum NGAL in AKI group and non-AKI group were (333.58 ± 116.30) and (300.36 ± 96.15) μg/L (P =0.36),and those were (383.3 ± 147.16) and (286.32 ± 65.97) μg/L (P＜0.01) at 6 h,and (437.33 ± 164.16) and (252.08 ± 57.53) μg/L (P＜ 0.001) at 12 h after operation.The sensitivity and specificity of serumNGAL (317μg/L at 12 h after operation as the cutoff value) predicting AKI was 100％ and 92％ respectively,which was much better than that of serum creatinine at the corresponding time point (sensitivity =66.7％,and specificity =61.9％).Conclusion Plasma NGAL,particularly at 12 h after transplantation,is a very sensitive and specific biomarker for predicting AKI.

Effect and mechanism of danshensu on hepatitis B virus reverse transcriptase and antigen expression / 中国中药杂志

MTT assay was used in this study to investigate the inhibitory effect of danshensu on the activity of 2.2.15 cells among human hepatoma cell line (HepG2); indirect fluorescence labeling method was used to measure the changes of reactive oxygen levels in the cells; ELISA method was used to determine hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) levels in cellular supernatants; HBV DNA level was measured with fluorogenic quantitative PCR method. The inhibitory effect of danshensu on HBV RT(hepatitis B virus reverse transcriptase) was studied by using enzyme inhibition dynamics, and the effect of danshensu on secondary structure of HBV reverse transcriptase was monitored by using circular dichroism. The results showed that danshensu had a good inhibitory effect on the growth of HepG2.2.15 cells, with a half inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of (15.35±2.43) μmol•L⁻¹; danshensu could significantly inhibit HBsAg and HBeAg expressions, and showed an inhibitory effect on HBV DNA replication. In addition, danshensu was an effective inhibitor for HBV reverse transcriptase [IC₅₀ (21.32±2.43) μmol•L⁻¹]. The fluorescence labeling results showed that the reactive oxygen levels in the cells were increased with the increase of danshensu concentration. Circular dichroism analysis showed that danshensu could induce partial change of conformation of HBV reverse transcriptase and gradually increased α-helical content. These results indicated that danshensu could make the structure of the enzyme become closer by binding to HBV reverse transcriptase, which was not conducive to the formation of the active center, so it could finally decrease the activity of HBV reverse transcriptase. Such decrease in enzyme activity would directly affect the HBV DNA replication, and combined with the decrease of the antigen levels, the effect of danshensu on HBV was increased.

Mechanical and thermal property characterization of poly-l-lactide (PLLA) scaffold developed using pressure-controllable green foaming technology.

Poly-l-lactide (PLLA) is one of the most promising biological materials used for tissue engineering scaffolds (TES) because of their excellent biodegradability and tenability. Here, microcellular PLLA foams were fabricated by pressure-controllable green foaming technology. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide angle X-ray diffraction measurement (WAXRD), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, reflection-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, enzymatic degradation study and MTT assay were used to analyze the scaffolds' morphologies, structures and crystallinities, mechanical and biodegradation properties, as well as their cytotoxicity. The results showed that PLLA foams with pore sizes from 8 to 103µm diameters were produced when the saturation pressure decreased from 7.0 to 4.0MPa. Through a combination of StepScan DSC (SSDSC) and WAXRD approaches, it was observed in PLLA foams that the crystallinity, highly-oriented metastable state and rigid amorphous phase increased with the increasing foaming pressure. It was also found that both the glass transition temperature and apparent enthalpy of PLLA significantly increased after the foaming process, which suggested that the changes of microcellular structure could provide PLLA scaffolds better thermal stability and elasticity. Moreover, MTT assessments suggested that the smaller pore size should benefit cell attachment and growth in the scaffold. The results of current work will give us better understanding of the mechanisms involved in structure and property changes of PLLA at the molecular level, which enables more possibilities for the design of PLLA scaffold to satisfy various requirements in biomedical and green chemical applications.

Quality evaluation and clinical applicability of pyrosequencing assay kit for detecting hepatitis B virus resistance / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the quality and clinical applicability of pyrosequencing assay kit for detecting hepatitis B virus resistance (HBV DRT).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Serial dilutions of the International Standard for HBV DNA were used to test the detection limit of the PCR for HBV DRT. Plasmids containing the either a wild-type (WT) copy or one of 10 mutant (MT) copies of the HBV RT gene were used to prepare a series of samples with various mutation ratios. To construct the linear relationship between the true mutation rate and the detected mutation rate, each sample was repeated at least 10 times. A total of 102 clinical samples were analyzed by Sanger sequencing and retested by the PCR for HBV DRT to determine the concordance of these two methods.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The lower detection limit of the PCR for HBV DRT was 50 IU/ml. Except for the RT236 MT, the correlation between the true mutation rate and the detected mutation rate for the other nine resistance-related mutation sites were excellent, with R² more than 0.98 (P less than 0.001). Among the 102 clinical samples, four were not amplified successfully by PCR. The results were significantly different between the PCR for HBV DRT method and the Sanger sequencing method (x² = 71.2, P less than 0.001), and concordance was observed for 897/969 (92.6%) amino acid positions in 98 samples. Concordant results were achieved in 46/98 (46.9%) samples at all 10 mutation sites. For detection of a single mutation site, concordance rates ranged from 71.5% to 100% at the 10 mutation sites, respectively. Analysis of discordant samples showed that in 87.5% (63/72), Sanger sequencing detected WT and the PCR for HBV DRT detected WT/MT. In 5.6% (4/72) of samples, Sanger sequencing detected WT/MT and the PCR for HBV DRT detected WT. In the remaining 6.9% (5/72) of samples, Sanger sequencing detected WT but PCR for HBV DRT detected MT.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The PCR for HBV DRT showed high sensitivity and accuracy in detecting antiviral drug-resistant mutations. The method is superior to Sanger sequencing for detecting minor mutations and can be used for early detection of a resistance mutation.</p>

Proton gradient-induced water transport mediated by water wires inside narrow aquapores of aquafoldamer molecules.

Hollow tubular aquapores inside aquafoldamers can be created via the "sticky" end-mediated formation of 1D chiral helical stacks involving same-handed helices, and are capable of aligning H-bonded water molecules in a chain-like fashion. These aquapores uniquely feature a small cavity of ∼2.8 Šin diameter, a size identical to that of the water molecule and also comparable to the narrowest opening in naturally occurring aquaporins measuring ∼3 Šacross, and hence allow not only proton transport but also unique proton-gradient-induced water transport across the lipid membranes in the presence of proton gradient.

Murine gammaherpesvirus-68 ORF38 encodes a tegument protein and is packaged into virions during secondary envelopment

Tegument is the unique structure of a herpesvirion which occupies the space between nucleocapsid and envelope. Accumulating data have indicated that interactions among tegument proteins play a key role in virion morphogenesis. Morphogenesis of gammaherpesviruses including Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is poorly understood due to the lack of efficient de novo lytic replication in cell culture. Murine gammaherpesvirus-68 (MHV-68) is genetically related to these two human herpesviruses and serves as an effective model to study the lytic replication of gammaherpesviruses. We previously showed that ORF33 of MHV-68 encodes a tegument protein and plays an essential role in virion maturation in the cytoplasm. However, the molecular mechanism of how ORF33 participates in virion morphogenesis has not been elucidated. In this study we demonstrated that ORF38 of MHV-68 is also a tegument protein and is localized to cytoplasmic compartments during both transient transfection and viral infection. Immuno-gold labeling assay showed that ORF38 is only present on virions that have entered the cytoplasmic vesicles, indicating that ORF38 is packaged into virions during secondary envelopment. We further showed that ORF38 co-localizes with ORF33 during viral infection; therefore, the interaction between ORF38 and ORF33 is conserved among herpesviruses. Notably, we found that although ORF33 by itself is distributed in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm, in the presence of ORF38, ORF33 is co-localized to trans-Golgi network (TGN), a site where secondary envelopment takes place.