The expressions and significance of Hpa and bFGF in oral squamous-cell carcinoma

Objective： To investigate the expressions of heparanase （Hpa） and basic fibroblast growth factor （bFGF） in oral squamous-cell carcinoma （OSCC）, and to evaluate the relationship between the expressions and tumor angiogenesis and progression. Methods： The expressions of Hpa mRNA and bFGF mRNA of OSCC were examined using in situ hybridization. The microvascular density （MVD） was assessed through immunohistochemistry staining. Results： The expressions of Hpa mRNA and bFGF mRNA were associated with tumor MVD and lymph node metastasis. Concomitant expression of Hpa mRNA and bFGF mRNA was associated with higher tumor MVD as compared with expression of either factor alone. Conclusion： Hpa and bFGF might contribute to the angiogenesis and lymph node metastasis in OSCC and they cooperate in promoting vascularization.

The application of anterolateral thigh flap in post-operative repairing of vulva tumor

Objective： The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of the application of anterolateral thigh flap in postoperative repairing of vulva tumor. Methods： Anterolateral thigh flap with the descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery and the pedicle of anterolaterat thigh cutaneous nerve was used in primary repairing of the defect from postoperative vulva tumor, the sizes of the flaps ranged from 10 cm ×14 cm-14 cm× 20 cm. Results： All flaps survived, during a follow-up of 2 to 12 months, the appearance of the flaps was satisfactory with sensitive function without local recurrences. Conclusion： Anterelateral thigh flap has fairly long vessel pedicle, wider vessel diameter, and is in the covert area. Anterolateral thigh flap with sensory nerve is the ideal choice for postoperative repairing of vulva tumor.

Clinical Observation on the Therapeutic Effects of Heavy Moxibustion plus Point-injection in Treatment of Impotence

Impotence, a common disease in males, can cause infertility. Since 1990, the author has been using heavy moxibustion and point-injection of VB12 to treat impotence, with satisfactory therapeutic results reported in the following.

The Effects of PDTC on Interleukin-1β-induced Nitric Oxide Production in Chondrocytes

In order to find new drugs to inhibit nitric oxide （NO） production, the effects of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate （PDTC）, a nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB） inhibitor, on recombinant human interleukin-1β （rhIL-1β）-induced NO production in chondrocytes were investigated. Rat chondrocytes were isolated and cultured, divided into control, P0, P1, P2, P3 and P4 groups. The chondrocytes in the P0, P1, P2, P3 and P4 groups were treated with different concentrations of PDTC （0, 3, 10, 30, and 50 p.mol/L respectively） for 1 h and then incubated with 5 U/mL rhIL-1β for 24 h. NO assay kit and RT-PCR were used to detect the NO content and the iNOS mRNA expression in the chondrocytes The expression level of iNOS mRNA in control, P0, P1, P2, P3 and P4 groups was 0.02±0.01, 1.24±0.13, 1.21±0.14, 0.61±0.11, 0.40±0.09, 0.21±0.06, and the relative content of NO was 15.8±2.7, 100±14.8, 92.6±9.3, 68.3±14.2, 27.5±9.8, 19.8±3.6, respectively. In the P0, P1, P2, P3 and P4 groups, the expression of iNOS mRNA and NO production were significantly increased as compared with those in the control group. As compared with the P0 group, the expression of iNOS mRNA and NO content in control group were lower. In the P2, P3 and P4 groups, PDTC could significantly inhibit the expression of iNOS and NO production induced by rhIL-1β in a concentration-dependent manner. It is suggested that PDTC can inhibit NO production and iNOS mRNA expression induced by IL-1β, which may provide an alternative method for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Effect of Antisense MBD1 Gene Eukaryotic Expression Plasmid on Expression of MBD1 Gene in Human Biliary Tract Carcinoma Cells

Hypermethylation of the promoter region is one of the major mechanism of tumor suppressor gene inactivation. In order to provide a research tool for the study on the function of MBD1 gene in DNA methylation and tumorigenesis, antisense MBD1 gene eukaryotic expression plasmid was constructed and transfected into human biliary tract carcinoma cell line QBC-939 to observe its effect on the expression of MBD1 mRNA and protein by using RT-PCR and FCM respectively. Following the transfection, the mRNA level of MBD1 gene decreased from 0. 912±0.022 to 0. 215±0. 017, and the protein level of MBD1 gene also decreased from （80.19±5.05） %to （35.11±4.05） %. There were very significant differences in the expression both at the transcription and post-transcription levels of MBD1 gene between non-tranfection group and the antisense MBD1 gene eukaryotic expression plasmid transfection group （P〈0.01）. It was suggested that transfection with the antisense MBD1 gene eukaryotic expression plasmid can significantly reduce the expression level of MBD1 gene in QBC-939, and this study may provide a valid tool for the investigation of the function of MBD1 gene and its role in biliary tract carcinoma.

Treatment of immune thrombocytopenia after allogeneic cord blood stem cell transplantation with rituximab: a case report

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a chronic disease resulting from increased platelet destruction and impaired platelet production. Secondary ITP can be a manifestation of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and represent a lymphoproliferative disorder. A boy with chronic graft-versus-host disease after cord blood stem cell transplantation who had severe refractory immune-mediated thrombocytopenia received infusion of rituximab weekly, 375 mg/m2, for 4 weeks. Platelets count of the patient was recovered, and rituximab was well tolerated with no severe toxicity observed during treatment.

The effectiveness of zinc supplementation in men with isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism

A multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled superiority trial with 18 months of follow-up was conducted to investigate whether oral zinc supplementation could further promote spermatogenesis in males with isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism （IHH） receiving sequential purified urinary follicular-stimulating hormone/human chorionic gonadotropin （uFSH/hCG） replacement. Sixty-seven Chinese male IHH patients were recruited from the Departments of Endocrinology in eight tertiary hospitals and randomly allocated into the sequential uFSH/hCG group （Group A, n = 34） or the sequential uFSH plus zinc supplementation group （Group B, n = 33）. In Group A, patients received sequential uFSH （75 U, three times a week every other 3 months） and hCG （2000 U, twice a week） treatments. In Group B, patients received oral zinc supplementation （40 mg day-1） in addition to the sequential uFSH/hCG treatment given to patients in Group A. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with a sperm concentration 〉1.0 × 106 ml-1 during the 18 months. The comparison of efficacy between Groups A and B was analyzed. Nineteen of 34 （55.9%） patients receiving sequential uFSH/hCG and 20 of 33 （60.6%） patients receiving sequential uFSH/hCG plus zinc supplementation achieved sperm concentrations ≥1.0 × 106 ml-1 by intention to treat analyses. No differences between Group A and Group B were observed as far as the efficacy of inducing spermatogenesis （P = 0.69）. We concluded that the sequential uFSH/hCG plus zinc supplementation regimen had a similar efficacy to the sequential uFSH/hCG treatment alone. The additional improvement of 40 mg day-1 oral zinc supplementation on spermatogenesis and masculinization in male IHH patients is very subtle.

Clinical Observation and Experimental Study on Compound Hypoglycemic Decoction for Hyperglycemia

Purpose: To observe the clinical efficacy of Compound Hypoglycemic Decoction (CHD) and its effect on serum total cholesterol in model mice. Method: The paired t test was used to analyze the data recorded before and after administration of drugs for hyperglycemia induced by intraperitoneal injection of 75% egg yolk emulsion in experimental mice. CHD and Fenofibrate were administered as prevention measures. Results: The total effective rate of serum total cholesterol (TC) decrease in 60 cases of hyperglycemia was 86.66% and that of serum total triglyceride (TG) decrease was 81.81%. The total effective rate of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) increase was 75%. The decrease in TC and TG, and the increase of HDL-C after treatment by in-group comparison were all significant (P<0.05). 21.9% and 22.2% decrease in the total cholesterol was respectively found in the CHD and Fenofibrate groups (both P<0.05), with no significant difference. Conclusion: The hypoglycemic action of Compound Hypoglycemic Decoction was remarkable in clinical practice, and it is very effective in preventing hyperglycemia in experimental mice.

Rutaecarpine Inhibits Angiotensin Ⅱ-Induced Proliferation in Rat Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Objective： To evaluate the effects and possible mechanisms of rutaecarpine on angiotensin Ⅱ （Ang Ⅱ ）-induced proliferation in cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells （VSMCs）. Methods： VSMCs were isolated from Male Sprague-Dawley rat aorta, and cultured by enzymic dispersion method. Experiments were performed with cells from passages 3-8. The cultured VSMCs were randomly divided into control, model （Ang Ⅱ 0.1 μ moVL）, and rutaecarpine （0.3-3.0μmol/L） groups. VMSC proliferation was induced by Ang Ⅱ, and was evaluated by the 3-（4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay and cell counting. To examine the mechanisms involved in anti-proliferative effects of rutaecarpine, nitric oxide （NO） levels and NO synthetase （NOS） activity were determined. Expressions of VSMC proliferation-related genes including endothelial nitric oxide synthase （eNOS）, and c-myc hypertension related gene-1 （HRG-1） were determined by real-time reverse chain reaction （RT-PCR）. Results： Rutaecarpine （0.3-3.0μmol/l_） inhibited Ang R-induced VSMC proliferation and the best effects were achieved at 3.0 μmol/L. The Ang Ⅱ-induced decreases in cellular NO contents and NOS activities were antagonized by rutaecarpine （P〈0.05）. Ang Ⅱ administration suppressed the expressions of eNOS and HRG-1, while increased c-myc expression （P〈0.05）. All these effects were attenuated by 3.0μmol/L rutaecarpine （P〈0.05）. Conclusion： Rutaecarpine is effective against Ang Ⅱ-induced rat VSMC proliferation, and this effect is due, at least in part, to NO production and the modulation of VMSC proliferation-related gene expressions.

Stem cell research in hepatocellular carcinoma

The traditional view that adult human liver tumors,mainly hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),arise from mature cell types has been challenged in recent dec-ades.The results of several studies suggest that HCC can be derived from liver stem cells.There are four levels of cells in the liver stem cell lineage:hepatocytes,hepatic stem cells/oval cells,bone marrow stem cells and hepato-pancreas stem cells.However,whether HCC is resulted from the differentiation block of stem cells and,moreover,which liver stem cell lineage is the source cell of hepatocarcinogenesis remain controversial.In this review,we focus on the current status of liver stem cell research and their roles in carcinogenesis of HCC,in order to explore new approaches for stem cell therapy of HCC.