Effect of anti-tuberculosis therapy on liver function of pulmonary tuberculosis patients infected with hepatitis B virus

AIM: To observe the effect of anti-tuberculosis therapy on liver function of pulmonary tuberculosis patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and to compare the differences of liver function by two treatments of antituberculosis.METHODS: Forty-seven TB patients with HBV infection and 170 TB patients without HBV infection were divided into HPBE(S) and HLAMKO treatment groups. Liver function tests before and after the treatments were performed once in 2 wk or monthly, and their clinical manifestations were recorded.RESULTS: The rate of hepatotoxicity occurred in 26 (59%)TB patients with HBV during anti-TB treatment, higher than that in 40 (24%) TB patients without HBV. Hepatotoxicity occurred in 66 out of 217 patients, and the incidence of liver dysfunction was 46.1% in HPBE(S) group, significantly higher than that in HLAMKO group (12.7%) (P＜0.01).CONCLUSION: TB patients with HBV should choose HLAMKO treatment because of fewer hepatotoxicity.

Matrix metalloproteinases-2,-9 and tissue inhibitor of metallo-proteinase-1 in lung cancer invasion and metastasis

Lung cancer is a major cause of death from malignant disease due to its high incidence, malignant behavior and lack of major advancements in treatment strategies. The ability to invade tissues and establish colonies at remote sites is a defining characteristic of malignant neoplasms. Matrix metalloproteinases ( MMPs) are zinc proteinases that degrade compounds of extracellular matrix (ECM). These enzymes have been implicated in tumour invasion and metastasis through degrading many extracellular matrix proteins especially MMP-2 and MMP-9, which are regarded as markers of tumour invasion and metastasis.(1) The purpose of this study is to examine the role of MMP-9, MMP-2, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and MMP-9/TIMP-1 in tumour invasion and metastasis as well as the relationships between the mRNA expression of MMP-9 in white blood cells and MMP-9 levels in the plasma.

Focal adhesion kinase antisense oligodeoxynucleotides inhibit human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells proliferation and promote human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells apoptosis

Background Pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation plays an important role in pulmonary vessel structural remodelling At present, the mechanisms related to proliferation of PASMCs are not clear Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a widely expressed nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase Recent research indicates that FAK is implicated in signalling pathways which regulate cytoskeletal organization, adhesion, migration, survival and proliferation of cells Furthermore, there are no reports about the role of FAK in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (HPASMCs) We investigated whether FAK takes part in the intracellular signalling pathway involved in HPASMCs proliferation and apoptosis, by using antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) to selectively suppress the expression of FAK protein Methods Cultured HPASMCs stimulated by fibronectin (40 μg/ml) were passively transfected with ODNs, sense FAK, mismatch sense and antisense FAK respectively Expression of FAK, Jun NH2 terminal kinase (JNK), cyclin dependent kinase 2 (CDK 2) and caspase 3 proteins were detected by immunoprecipitation and Western blots Cell cycle and cell apoptosis were analysed by flow cytometry In addition, cytoplasmic FAK expression was detected by immunocytochemical staining Results When compared with mismatch sense group, the protein expressions of FAK, JNK and CDK 2 in HPASMCs decreased in antisense FAK ODNs group and increased in sense FAK ODNs group significantly Caspase 3 expression upregulated in HPASMCs when treated with antisense ODNs and downregulated when treated with sense ODNs When compared with mismatch sense ODNs group, the proportion of cells at G 1 phase decreased significantly in sense ODNs group, while the proportion of cells at S phase increased significantly In contrast, compared with mismatch sense ODNs group, the proportion of cells at G 1 phase was increased significantly in antisense FAK ODNs group The level of cell apoptosis in antisense FAK group was higher than in the mismatch sense group and the latter was higher than sense FAK group In addition, the sense FAK ODNs group was strongly stained by immunocytochemistry, whereas the antisense FAK ODNs group was weakly stained Conclusions The results suggest that FAK relates to the proliferation of HPASMCs Antisense FAK ODNs inhibit HPASMCs proliferation and facilitate their apoptosis It is possible that FAK via JNK, CDK 2 signalling pathways enhances HPASMCs proliferation and via caspase 3 inhibits HPASMCs apoptosis