Expression and significance of MMP3 in synovium of knee joint at different stage in osteoarthritis patients

Objective:To investigate the expression and significance of MMP-3 in synovium of knee joint at different stage in osteoarthritis(OA)patients.Methods:Knee synovial tissue were collected in90 OA patients(the OA group).Patients in the OA group was divided into 3 subgroups:gradeⅠsubgroup(n=30),gradeⅡsubgroup(n=30),gradeⅢsubgroup(n=30).Thirty patients served as control group,lmmunohistochemical assay was used to detect the expression of MMP-3 protein in the knee synovial tissue.Results:MMP-3 protein was detected in all knee synovial tissue.The expression of MMP-3 protein in the OA group was significantly higher that in the normal synovium(P<0.05),and the MMP-3 protein was mainly located in the cytoplasm.There was significant difference in the expression of MMP-3 protein between the gradeⅢsubgroup and the gradeⅠ,gradeⅡsubgroups(all P<0.05).The expression of MMP-3 protein was positively related to the severity of OA(r=0.912,P<0.05).Conclusions:The expression of MMP-3 protein are closely related to pathogenic mechanism of OA.It may be an important indicator of early diagnosis and the activity of the disease of osteoarthritis.

Effects of Panax Notoginseng Saponins on Proliferation and Differentiation in NIH3T3 Cells

Objective： To investigate the effects of Panax notoginseng saponins （PNS） on the proliferation and differentiation in NIH3T3 cells. Methods： NIH3T3 cells were treated by various concentrations of PNS 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.40 g/L. The vitality and proliferation potential of cells were detected by 3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol- 2-yl）-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide （MTT） assay, the alkaline phosphatase （ALP） activity was measured by p-nitrophenyl phosphate （pNPP） assay, and the mineralization formation ability was tested for the cellular differentiation toward osteoblast, as well as the expression level of phosphorylated extrecellular signal-regulated kinasel/2（P-ERK1/2）, extracellular signal-regulated kinasel/2 （ERK1/2） protein kinase was analyzed by Western blot with total cell lysate of NIH3T3 cells treated by PNS. Results： Both MTT and pNPP assay showed that optical density （OD） values were increased in response to PNS treatment at a dose-dependent pattern. The mineralization formation ability was enhanced in PNS-treated NIH3T3 cells compared with untreated cells. Meanwhile, the expression level of P-ERK1/2 protein kinase was up-regulated in PNS-treated NIH3T3 cells, while, the expression level of ERK1/2 protein kinase revealed no obvious difference with or without PNS treated cells. Conclusion： PNS could pay a role to promote the proliferation and differentiation in NIH3T3 cells by means of up-regulation of P-ERK1/2 protein kinase.

Valganciclovir for pre-emptive therapy of cytomegalovirus viraemia after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation： a prospective multi-center trial

Background Despite its widespread use in the management of HIV-related cytomegalovirus （CMV） infection, there have been surprisingly few reports of the use of valganciclovir （VGC） in the post-allotransplant setting.So far, no multi-center, non-crossover trial data have been available with the use of this drug as the primary pre-emptive.The present study evaluated the efficacy and safety of VGC for preemptive therapy of CMV infection after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation （HSCT）.Methods From January to April 2007, VGC was adopted in eleven centers in China's Mainland for pre-emptive therapy of CMV infection in consecutive patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT.Allogeneic HSCT recipients were followed weekly via CMV pp65 antigenemia assay or real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （PCR） for detection of CMV-DNA.Patients with a positive assay were treated with VGC, 900 mg P.O.twice a day for 14 days followed by 900 mg P.O.once a day for 14 days after a negative result or the CMV-DNA load was lower.Results A total of 54 patients （15 siblings, 28 mismatched related donors, 11 unrelated donors） had a positive assay treated with oral VGC.The seroconversion rate was 89% （48/54） as confirmed by a negative assay; six patients failed oral VGC.No significant toxicity was encountered.No case of CMV disease was diagnosed in the responding patients with a median follow-up of 5.3 months after the drug administration.Conclusion Pre-emptive therapy of CMV viraemia with oral VGC is safe and effective in allogeneic HSCT.

Pure Total Flavonoids from Citrus paradisi Macfad InduceLeukemia Cell Apoptosis In Vitro

Objective： To investigate the potential effect of pure total flavonoids from Citrus paradisi Macfad peel（PTFC） on the proliferation and apoptosis of human myeloid leukemia cells Kasumi-1, HL-60 and K562, and the underlying mechanisms. Methods： PTFC was extracted from Citrus paradisi Macfad peel and was identified by high performance liquid chromatography. The effect of PTFC on the proliferation and apoptosis of leukemia cells were determined by 3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry, respectively. The effect of PTFC on the expression levels of apoptosis-related regulators was determined by Western blot assay. Results： Treatment with PTFC inhibited leukemia cell proliferation in a dose-and time-dependent manner and triggered Kasumi-1 cell apoptosis. Treatment with PTFC significantly increased the levels of activated poly adenosine diphosphate-ribosepolymerase and caspase-3/-9, but reduced the levels of Mcl-1 expression in Kasumi-1 cells. However, PTFC did not obviously induce HL-60 cell apoptosis. Conclusion： PTFC inhibited leukemia cell proliferation and induced their apoptosis by modulating apoptosisrelated regulator expression in leukemia cells in vitro.

Multi-central Clinical Research into Treating 80 Cases of Chronic Thrombocytopenia with Qi-supplementing and Yin-nourishing Therapy and Western Medicine

Objective: To probe the effects of qi-supplementing and yin-nourishing therapy (blood-increasing decoction and blood generating powder) on chronic thrombocytopenia. Methods: Two hundred patients with chronic thrombocytopenia were randomly divided into control (n=100) and test groups (n = 100) with Amino-polypeptide as a basic treatment for both. Test group patients consumed a blood-increasing decoction and blood-generating powder for 1-3 months. Improvements in platelet counts and TCM syndrome were observed. Results: One hundred and sixty-four (80 in the test group and 84 in the control group) of 189 total participants were treated for 3 months. The total effective rate in improving TCM syndrome was 95.00% in the test group and 79.76% in the control group (P<0.05). There was significant difference (P<0.05) in the accumulated score of TCM syndrome between the two groups treated at different time points. The total effective rate of platelet counts was 86.25% in the test group and 59.52% in the control group (P<0.05). There was a significant difference in platelet counts before and after treatment in the two groups (P<0.05). There was no significant differences in platelet count between the two groups treated for 1-2 months; however, a significant difference was found between the two groups after treatment for 3 months (P<0.05). Conclusions: After a 3-month treatment of chronic thrombocytopenia patients with qi-supplementing and yin-nourishing therapy, TCM syndrome was improved and platelet counts increased with no obvious side effects, and the quality of life of the participants was enhanced with noticeable long-term curative effects.

Effect Evaluation of Strychnos nux-vomica L.with Integrative Methods for Bortezomib-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Multiple Myeloma Patients:A Self-Controlled Clinical Trial

Objective:To explore the clinical effect and adverse reactions of Strychnos nux-vomica in bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy(BIPN)of patients with multiple myeloma(MM).Methods:A total of 19 MM patients with BIPN were enrolled and Nux Vomica Capsule(NVC,0.4 g,thrice daily)were orally administrated for 30 days.Comparative analysis on parameters between pre-and post-therapy,including peripheral neuropathy(PN)grade,neurotoxicity score,Chinese medicine(CM)syndrome score,total neuropathy score(TNS),coagulation function,and serum nerve growth factor(NGF)levels were conducted.The adverse events were monitored.Results:In BIPN of MM patients who received NVC,PN grade was lowered,neurotoxicity score was obviously decreased(P 0.01),and both CM syndrome score and TNS were remarkably decreased(P<0.01).After the therapy,activated partial thromboplastin time was prolonged(P<0.01)and fibrinogen was declined(P<0.05),showing improvement in the hypercoagulable state of patients.No significant difference of NGF recovery degrees was detected between pre-and post-therapy(P>0.05).No evident adverse reactions were observed during the course of treatment.Conclusion:Strychnos nux-vomica L.has significantly effect with a good safety in treatment of BIPN in MM patients.