Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of endoscopic variceal ligation (EVL) versus endoscopic variceal sclerotherapy (EVS) for acute esophageal variceal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis.Methods We searched CBMdisc (1979 to 2006), CNKI (1994 to 2006) and VIP for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs comparing EVL and EVS for acute esophageal variceal bleeding patients with liver cirrhosis. The methodogical quality of included trials was critically assessed and the data were extracted by two reviewers, working independently. The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4.2.7 software was used for meta-analysis. Results Nine RCTs involving a total of 1371 patients were included: 688 in EVL group and 683 in EVS. The meta-analyses showed a significant reduction for mortality [RR 0.60, 95%CI (0.36, 0.98)], and non-significant reductions in complications, rebleeding and emergency hemostasis in the EVL group compared to the EVS group. EVS was non-significantly better than EVL for the rate of eradication varices and recurrent varices. Conclusions For acute esophageal variceal bleeding in patients with liver cirrhosis, EVL has better effect and fewer complications than EVS. However, because the quality of included RCTs was poor, the strength of our conclusions was limited. Further high-quality RCTs are required.
ObjectiveTo construct a luciferase reporter fusion containing the human connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) gene promoter.MethodsThe promoter region of the human CTGF gene (-835/+214) was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specially-designed primers, and subsequently cloned into the pGL3.0-Basic vector. Following screening and verification by single colony PCR, double digestion, and sequencing, the resulting pGL3.0-Basic-CTGF was used to transfect the human embryonic kidney cells 293T, human bronchial epithelial cells HBE and human lung epithelial cells A549, and its function in each cell line was determined by luciferase assay.ResultsSequence alignment showed 99.5% identity, suggesting successful construction of the pGL3.0-Basic-CTGF reporter fusion. Promoter activities were detected 48 hours after transfection of pGL3.0-Basic-CTGF into the 293T, HBE, and A549 cells, and the promoter activities were 2.416, 0.027, and 0.121, respectively (P<0.01). Moreover, the luciferase activity in the A549 cells was statistically higher than that in the HBE cells (P<0.01).ConclusionsThe human pGL3.0-Basic-CTGF luciferase reporter fusion has been successfully constructed. The construct exhibits promoter activity in the bronchial epithelial cells HBE and the lung epithelial cells A549, and can therefore serve as a useful tool for future research in transcriptional regulation.
Objective To assess the effectiveness and safety of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in the treatment of proliferative lupus nephritis. Methods We searched CBM (November 1979 to February 2006), Chinese Cochrane Centre Database (2005), The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2005), MEDLINE (November 1966 to February 2006) and EMBASE (1975 to February 2006) for randomize controlled trials. Data were extracted and analyzed using The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4.2.7. Results Nine randomize controlled trials involving 512 patients met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed that the total clinical effective rate and complete remission rate were not significantly higher for MMF than for cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, or both. Renal survival rate and relapse rate of MMF were not significantly different from those for cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, or both. Patient survival rate and safety of MMF were significantly improved compared with cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, or both. Conclusion More large-scale multi-center randomized trials are needed to investigate the role of MMF in the treatment of proliferative lupus nephritis.