Effect of Weikangfu Granule (胃康复冲剂) on the Physiopathologic Figure of Precancerosis of Gastric Mucosain Patients of Chronic Gastritis with Pi-Deficiency Syndrome

To study the physiopathologic basis of Weikangfu Granule （胃康复冲剂, WKFG） in treating precancerosis of gastric mucosa in patients of chronic gastritis with Pi-deficiency syndrome （CGPDS）. Methods： One hundred and fifteen patients of CG-PDS who suffered from intestinal metaplasia （IM） and atypical hyperplasia （ATHP） of gastric mucosa, were divided into two groups. The treated group （n=61） was treated by WKFG with its ingredients modified according to the syndrome type of patients. The control group（n=54） was treated with Weishu granule （胃舒冲剂）. The histopathological and subcellular ultrastructural changes were detected by optical microscope, screening electronic microscope, transmission electronic microscope and histochemical staining; the nuclear and mitochondrial ultrastructure of gastric mucosa were analyzed with energy dispersion X-ray analyser and image analysis system. And the changes of cAMP, lipid peroxide （LPO）, superoxide dismutase （SOD） before and after treatment in the treated group were measured and compared with those of the health control group consisting of 15 volunteers. Results： The symptomatic and pathological therapeutic effect in the treated group were significantly superior to those in the control group （P〈0.05）. The contents of Zn, Cu, cAMP, SOD and 3H-TdR LCT in gastric mucosa of the treated group before treatment were all lower than those of the healthy control group, yet all these indexes markedly increased after treatment, while serum LPO level, which increased before treatment was lowered after treatment. All the changes showed statistical significance （P〈0.05 or P〈0.01）. Conclusion： WKFG can reverse IM and ATHP in patients of CG-PDS, and the effect may be realized by way of increasing the level of Zn, Cu, cAMP and SOD in gastric mucosa, promoting cell differentiation, enhancing cellular immunity and reducing oxygen free radicals and lipid peroxidation.

Intestinal microflora molecular markers of spleen-deficient rats and evaluation of traditional Chinese drugs

AIM:To find a rapid and efficient analysis method of gastrointestinal microflora in Pi-deficient(spleen-deficient) rats and to evaluate traditional Chinese drugs.METHODS:Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR(ERIC-PCR) based assay was performed to examine changes of intestinal microflora in two Pi-deficienct animal models and to evaluate the efficacy of four traditional Chinese drugs as well as a probiotic recipe and another therapy in Pi-deficient rats.RESULTS:A molecular marker was identified for Pi-deficiency in rats.The pharmacodynamic evaluation system,including identified molecular markers(net integral area and abundance of DNA bands),Shannon's index for diversity of intestinal microflora,and Sorenson's pairwise similarity coefficient,was established.The four major clinical recipes of traditional Chinese drugs for Pi-deficiency in rats,especially at their medium dose(equivalence to the clinical dose),produced more pronounced recovery activities in Pi-deficient rats,while higher doses of these recipes did not show a better therapeutic effect but some toxic effects such as perturbation deterioration of intestinal microflora.CONCLUSION:Both fingerprint analysis and identified marker can show Pi-deficiency in rats and its difference after treatment.The identified molecular marker may be applied in screening for the active compounds both in relative traditional Chinese drugs and in pharmacodynamic study of Pi-deficiency in rats.

Bioinformatics Research on Chronic Superficial Gastritis of Pi-deficiency Syndrome by Gene Arrays

Objective： To determine the bioinformatical characteristics of differential gene expression in patients with chronic superficial gastritis （CSG） with the Pi-deficiency syndrome （PDS） and those of the non- Pi-deficiency syndrome （non-PDS）, i.e. patients of CSG with Pi （脾）-Wei （胃） dampnese-heat syndrome and healthy persons. Methods： With the BRB-Array Tools software package, original data collection and bioinformatic analysis of gene arrays were conducted in 6 CSG patients of PDS （CSG-PDS）, 6 CSG patients of non-PDS （CSG-nPDS）, and 6 healthy volunteers （Normal）. Results： Compared with non-PDS, the gene expressions in PDS with regards to protein synthesis, energy metabolism, immune reaction and ionic transport tended to be down-regulated, while those concerning secretion, cytoskeleton and ubiquitinization were up-regulated dominantly. Conclusions： The two kinds of samples, CSG-PDS/Normal and CSG-PDS/CSG-nPDS, have their respective gene expression profiles with different characteristics. Gene expression profile has certain referential significance in syndrome classification.

Study on the Relationship between Serum High Density Lipoprotein and Pi-deficiency Syndrome in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Objective： To explore the relationship of Pi （脾）-deficiency syndrome in TCM with the change of serum high density lipoprotein （HDL） in blood lipid metabolic disorder. Methods： Sixty-eight patients with confirmed coronary heart disease （CHD） were selected for TCM syndrome typing into Pi- deficiency （PD） group and non-Pi-deficiency （NPD） group. Routine blood lipids and serum lipoprotein electrophoretogram （SLPG） were determined in all patients to analyze the total content of HDL and its relative contents of sub-components HDL1-5, as well as their relation with PD syndrome. Besides, a healthy control group （62 cases） was set up. Results： The level of serum HDL-C was lowered, SLPG abnormality rate increased in the patients with CHD, with total HDL and the relative contents of sub- component HDL1 and HDL3 significantly lower than those in the healthy control group （P〈0.01）. The total HDL, HDL1 and HDL3 in the PD group were also lower than those in the NPD group （P〈0.05, P〈0.01）. Conclusion： Serum HDL and its sub-components showed a definite relation with TCM PD syndrome type, therefore, further exploring the granular specificity of HDL and its sub-components as well as their influence on reverse cholesterol transport （RCT） may hopefully provide clues for developing RCT regulatory Chinese new drugs and for CHD prevention and treatment.

Progress in Research on Applying Sijunzi Decoction (四君子汤) in Treating Digestive Malignant Tumor

Patients with digestive malignant tumor always have their immune function, especially the cellular immunity, suppressed to a certain extent. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） holds that Pi （脾 ）-Wei （胃） is the essence of postnatal life, and the genesis and development of digestive tumor are chiefly due to the insufficiency of vital-qi, which makes the body open to the invasion of evil pathogens. Starting from regulating the immune function of organisms, researchers recently obtained some therapeutic effects by applying the Chinese recipe, Sijunzi Decoction （四君子汤）, in the treatment of digestive malignant tumors. In this paper, the related studies on the concerned basic theory and clinical application were reviewed.