Increasing evidence suggests that many types of cancers contain a population of cells that display stem cell properties. These cells are called cancer stem cells （CSCs），which are closely related to tumor initiation，growth，metastasis and chemoresistance. CSCs are also found in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma （ESCC）. These cells are characterized by potential of self-renewal and differentiation，tumor formation in nude mice and chemotherapy resistance，and thus may play an important role in targeted cancer therapies. Current methods for culturing and sorting CSCs in ESCC mainly include fluorescence activated cell sorting （FACS），magnetic activated cell sorting （MACS），suspension culture，and side population （SP） cell sorting. In this review，we focus on current research methods for CSCs in ESCC，their biological characteristics and areas for improvement. We believe that a combination of multiple cell-surface makers is needed for research of CSCs in ESCC.
ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnosis and classification of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in high risk populations living in metropolitan communities of Beijing. MethodsDuring January 2011 to December 2012,a cross-sectional survey including questionnaires and pulmonary function tests were performed in high risk populations of COPD (aged≥40 years with a history of smoking or chronic bronchitis) at 6 communities in Dongcheng District of Beijing. For those confirmed to have COPD,the dyspnea was rated by the modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale (mMRC),and the frequency of acute exacerbations in the last year was recorded. The patients were classified by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD 2011) classification criteria. ResultsA total of 932 individuals,including 689 males (73.9%,aged 60.8±12.5 years) and 243 females(26.1%,aged 59.8±12.1 years),who had risk factors of COPD were included in the screening. COPD was confirmed in 203 patients,with the prevalence of 21.8%,and among whom only 31 cases (15.3%) had been diagnosed as COPD in the past. According to the revised GOLD classification in 2011,96(47.2%),38(18.7%),56(27.5%),and 13(6.4%) patients were classified into group A,B,C and D,respectively. The proportion of subgroup C1 (FEV1%pred <50% and the number of exacerbation in the last year <2) in group C was 71.4% (40/56). ConclusionIn the metropolitan communities of Beijing,screening the population with predisposing factors can increase the early diagnosis of COPD,which is often delayed by the lack of significant symptoms. The high proportion of patients in group C in this population implies that disease screening in high risk populations may be helpful for the prevention and treatment of COPD.
As the largest ecosystem of human body, intestinal microorganisms participate in the synthesis and metabolism of uric acid. Developing and utilizing intestinal bacteria to degrade uric acid might provide new ideas for the treatment of hyperuricemia. The fecal samples of people with low uric acid were inoculated into uric acid selective medium with the concentration of 1.5 mmol/L for preliminary screening, and the initially screened strains that may have degradation ability were domesticated by concentration gradient method, and the strains with high uric acid degradation rate were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing method. A strain of high-efficiency uric acid degrading bacteria was screened and domesticated from the feces of people with low uric acid. The degradation rate of uric acid could reach 50.2%. It was identified as Escherichia coli. The isolation and domestication of high efficient uric acid degrading strains can not only provide scientific basis for the study of the mechanism of intestinal microbial degradation of uric acid, but also reserve biological strains for the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout in the future.
Objective We investigated and analyzed past and ongoing welfare programs related to health equity, and the relevant policies, documents, and interventions measures for improving China’s migrant worker population’s accessibility and utilization of tuberculosis (TB) control services in TB control programs. Then we evaluated their impactin order to provide evidence and suggestions for the further TB prevention and treatment. Methods We retrieved published documents about TB prevention and treatment of the migrant worker population dating from 1998 to 2008 from MEDLINE, PubMed, CNKI, CBMdisc CDDB, and VIP electronically. Simultaneously, a series of interviews was conducted with patients who used the programs. Results Totally, 58 documents were retrieved. Of these documents 13 passed eligibility criteria: eight have been published, five have not been published, and only one of them is RCT with B degree for quality of evidence. Secondary document research has suggested that the intervention measures that have been adopted concerning TB in China, including health promotion, providing incentive, patient tracking and supervision management. Although tuberculosis cure rates have improved, the scene interviews show that the majority of TB and suspected cases of patients don’t have enough knowledge on TB prevention and free treatment policies. It is often difficult to track the migrant population. TB detection and treatment still need to be enhanced. Conclusions There it is lack of high-quality documents about good intervention design, so it is difficult to make a objective and fair evaluation to the effects of intervention on the migrant population. In the future, we should carry out large-scale, multicenter, high-quality RCTs specifically for TB controlin the migrant population in order to provide evidencefor making a scientific and feasible intervention project.
Objective To investigate the therapeutic effects of transplanting allogeneic marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) via subarachnoid space on spinal cord injury(SCI) and the T cell subpopulation. Methods Density gradient centrifugation was used to isolate and expand MSCs from bone marrow of 10 six-week-old SD rats. The SCI model was produced by weightbeating from 60 eight-week-old female SD rats. Forty survival SCI rats,which BBB scores were zero, were divided randomly into 2 groups:experimental group(group A) and control group(group B). In addition, 20 normal eightweekold SD ratswere used as blank group (group C). In group A, 1 ml cells suspention containing MSCs(the 6th generation, 2×106/ml) was injected via subarachnoid space. Ingroup B, equal volume of L-DMEM was injected in the same way. The BBB score was obtained after 1st,2nd and 3rd weeks of injection. At the same time,T cell subpopulation was detected by flow cytometry. Results The BBB score in group A was better than that in group B, but fewer than that in group C in the 3rd week. CD4+T cells in group A were less than those in groups B and C in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd weeks. CD8+T cells in group A were less than those in groups B and C in the 2nd and 3rd weeks. The ratio of CD4+/CD8+T cells in group A was less than those in groups B and C in the 1st week. Above differences showed statistically significant difference(P＜0.05). However, there were no statistically significant differences in the ratio of CD4+/CD8+T cells between group A and groups B, C in the 2nd and 3rd weeks (P＞0.05). Conclusion The above results suggest that allogeneic MSCs transplantation via subarachnoid space is beneficial to SCI to some extend, do not result in rejection in vivo. Furthermore, it can lead to immunosuppression in short time. So, it provides clues to apply MSCs to treat SCI and other diseases.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the causative agent of human tuberculosis. Through the genotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, we can find the epidemic situation and characteristics of tuberculosis in time, analyze the transmission chain between patients in different jurisdictions, and formulate effective intervention measures in time, to provide a strong basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment. At present, several genotyping techniques for Mycobacterium tuberculosis have their advantages and disadvantages in application. This article reviews the genotyping technology, population genetics and genotyping naming rules of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of health economics of census versus high-risk population screening for tuberculosis in Mianyan city, in order to provide references for the selection of suitable tuberculosis screening method in western region of China. MethodsWe included active tuberculosis patients by residents health screening of 21 villages and towns in Mianyan city from June 2013 to March 2013. Relevant data was analyzed by referencing the National Assessment of Tuberculosis Control Program in 2001-2010. Results184047 residents were screened by tuberculosis census and 128 active tuberculosis patients were diagnosed while 61045 residents were screened by high-risk population screening and 76 active tuberculosis patients were diagnosed. The cost-utility ratio and benefit-cost ratio of tuberculosis census were 6174.17 and 3.84, respectively. The cost-utility ratio and benefit-cost ratio of high risk population screening were 3106.16 and 7.62, respectively. ConclusionHigh-risk population screening has higher cost-utility ratio and benefit-cost ratio than tuberculosis census with higher missed diagnosis. Benefits and harms of tuberculosis detection rate and cost should be fully balanced before tuberculosis screening method were chosen in western underdeveloped region of China.
Objective To evaluate the association between the Thr241Met polymorphism in the XRCC3 gene and the risk of lung cancer in Chinese population by meta-analysis. Methods Databases including PubMed, EMbase, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data were searched to identify domestic and foreign case-control studies concerning the association between Thr241Met polymorphism in XRCC3 gene and the risk of lung cancer in Chinese population from the inception to August 20th, 2013. Two reviewers independently screened the literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data and assessed quality. Then meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.0 software and Stata 10.0 software. Results A total of 5 case-control studies involved 2 999 lung cancer cases and 2 994 controls were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, Chinese population who carry the variant genotype or allele had no increased risk of lung cancer: Met/Met vs. Thr/Thr: OR=1.00, 95%CI (0.38, 2.59), P=0.99; Met/Met vs. Thr/Met: OR=1.06, 95%CI (0.83, 1.36), P=0.63; Met/Met vs. Thr/Met+Thr/Thr: OR=0.99, 95%CI (0.38, 2.57), P=0.98; Thr/Met+Met/Met vs. Thr/Thr: OR=1.06, 95%CI (0.82, 1.37), P=0.65; Met vs. Thr: OR=1.05, 95%CI (0.82, 1.35), P=0.68. Conclusion Currently, Thr241Met polymorphism in the XRCC3 gene is not found to be associated with the risk of lung cancer in Chinese population. Considering the limited quality of the included case-control studies, more high quality studies with large sample size are needed to verify the above conclusion.
Objective To evaluate the effect of a health education for preventing HIV/AIDS in floating population. Methods A computerized literature search was carried out in PubMed, CBM (Chinese Biomedical Database), CNKI (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure), Wanfang (Chinese) and VIP (Chinese) databases to collect articles published between 1996 and 2006 concerning the effect of a HIV/AIDS education intervention in floating population. We also checked the reference lists of relevant articles. The study type was self-control intervention study. Meta-analyses were performed to assess 3 outcomes of the intervention, i.e. knowledge about HIV transmission, means of prevention and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients. Fixed and random effect models were employed to combine results after a heterogeneity test, with rate difference (RD) used as the indicator of intervention effect. Results The analysis showed that the RD for knowing the sexual transmission route of HIV, the RD for knowing the effect of condoms for HIV prevention, and the RD for changing attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients, i.e. treating them as ordinary people, were increased by 16% (0.10, 0.22), 22% (0.17, 0.28) and 19% (0.13, 0.25), respectively. Conclusion Health education for preventing HIV/AIDS is effective in changing knowledge and attitudes in floating population.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the risk factors in elderly patients with primary hypertension with morning blood pressure surge in China, so asto provide references for clinical treatment and prevention of complications. MethodsSuch databases as PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 11, 2013), CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data were electronically searched for the case-control studies about morning blood pressure surge (MBPS) among elderly patients with primary hypertension in China from January 2006 to June 2014 were collected. Literature was screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, data were extracted and the methodological quality of the included studies was assessed, and then meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.2 software. ResultsA total of 16 studies involving 2 007 cases were finally included, of which 956 cases were detected with MBPS. The results of meta-analysis showed that significant differences were found in glucose levels (MD=0.42, 95%CI 0.04 to 0.81, P=0.03), urinary microalbumin levels (MD=23.85, 95%CI 6.64 to 41.07, P=0.007), incidences of cerebrovascular events (OR=1.96, 95%CI 1.25 to 3.08, P=0.004), carotid atherosclerosis (OR=5.13, 95%CI 1.70 to 15.45, P=0.004) and left ventricular hypertrophy (OR=2.49, 95%CI 1.70 to 3.64, P < 0.000 01), left ventricular mass (MD=12.89, 95%CI 3.94 to 21.84, P=0.005), and carotid artery intima-media thickness (MD=0.08, 95%CI 0.02 to 0.14, P=0.009); while no significant difference was found in gender (OR=1.12, 95%CI 0.84 to 1.49, P=0.44), total cholesterol levels (MD=0.01, 95%CI-0.11 to 0.12, P=0.92), and creatinine levels (MD=1.77, 95%CI-1.16 to 4.70, P=0.24) between patients with or without MBPS. ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that glucose levels, early kidney damage, emergent cerebrovascular events and the reconstruction of the artery and the left ventricle are risk factors of abnormal MBPS in China. However, the above conclusion needs to be verified by further conducting high quality prospective studies.