Biomedical subjects

Wei Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Wei Chen.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

PubMed2006

Menu suggestion: an effective way to improve dietary compliance in peritoneal dialysis patients.

OBJECTIVE: Poor compliance with the dietary prescriptions is quite common in dialysis patients. We believe that most of the noncompliance is caused by the patient's poor understanding of the dietary prescription. Therefore, in the present study, we tried to investigate the role of menu suggestion in improving the patient's compliance with the dietary prescription. DESIGN AND SETTING: A longitudinal cohort study conducted at an outpatient dialysis clinic. PATIENTS: Seventy clinically stable patients on peritoneal dialysis were included in this prospective study during April 1, 2004, to November 31, 2004, in a single center. Patients who had significant cognitive impairment and thus did not understand the food contents during the training course were not eligible for enrollment. INTERVENTION: All the patients were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups. Group 1 patients received the traditional patient education method. Group 2 patients additionally received individualized menu suggestions based on their food preferences and education on how to exchange the foods at equivalent amounts according to the exchange list. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: At present, there are no clear optimal dietary protein intake levels for peritoneal dialysis patients. Our experience is that a dietary protein intake level of 0.8 to 1.2 g/kg/d can maintain our patients in a good nutritional status. Thereafter, in this study we prescribed the dietary protein intake level at 0.8 to 1.2 g/kg/d and defined compliance as meeting this target protein intake level. RESULTS: There were 35 patients in each group. The compliance was 22.9% in group 1 and 57.1% in group 2 (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that menu suggestion may be an effective way of improving the compliance with the diet in peritoneal dialysis patients. It improves the patient's understanding of the dietary prescription.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The arginine-rich motif of Bamboo mosaic virus satellite RNA-encoded P20 mediates self-interaction, intracellular targeting, and cell-to-cell movement.

Satellite RNA of Bamboo mosaic virus (satBaMV) has a single open reading frame for a nonstructural, RNA-binding protein, P20, which facilitates the long-distance movement of satBaMV in Nicotiana benthamiana. Here, we elucidate various biological properties of P20 and the involvement of a single domain in its activities. P20 displayed a strong self-interaction in vitro and in vivo, and cross-linking assays demonstrated its oligomerization. Domain mapping, using the bacterial two-hybrid system, indicated that the self-interacting domain overlaps the RNA-binding domain in the N-terminal arginine-rich motif (ARM) of P20. The deletion of the ARM abolished the self-interaction of P20 in vitro and in vivo and impaired its intracellular targeting and efficient cell-to-cell movement in N. benthamiana leaves. Moreover, RNA and protein accumulation of the ARM deletion mutant of satBaMV was significantly reduced in leaves systemically coinfected with Bamboo mosaic potexvirus and satBaMV. This is the first report of the involvement of ARM in various biological activities of a satellite RNA-encoded protein during infection of its host.

Amino Acid Motifs↗

PubMed2006

Different effects of atherogenic lipoproteins and blood pressure on arterial structure and function: the Bogalusa Heart Study.

Differential impact of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (total cholesterol minus high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and blood pressure on arterial wall thickness and stiffness was examined in 900 black and white adults aged 24-43 years. Blacks compared with whites had greater values of pulse wave velocity (5.4 m/sec vs. 5.2 m/sec; p<0.01) and carotid artery intima-media thickness (0.83 mm vs. 0.80 mm; p<0.01). Non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly associated with carotid intima-media thickness (standardized regression coefficient [b]=0.21; p<0.01), but not with pulse wave velocity (b=0.03; p=0.37), after adjusting for race, sex, age, body mass index, insulin, glucose, and smoking. Systolic blood pressure was associated significantly stronger with pulse wave velocity (b=0.36; p<0.01) than with carotid intima-media thickness (b=0.15; p<0.01). No race difference in these relationships was found. The results of this study indicate that atherogenic lipoproteins and blood pressure may play different roles in the development of arterial wall stiffness and atherosclerosis.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Establishing a genetic system for ecological studies of Streptococcus oligofermentans.

Streptococcus oligofermentans is a newly characterized species belonging to the mitis group of oral streptococci. So far no correlation has been demonstrated between S. oligofermentans and dental caries. Furthermore, a reverse correlation has been observed between the number of S. oligofermentans and the number of Streptococcus mutans, a major cariogenic pathogen, in the oral cavity. These properties suggest that S. oligofermentans may have a potential to be used as a 'probiotics' for caries prevention. In this study, we aim to establish a genetic system in S. oligofermentans to further study the biology of this new species. Using homologous regions of the comCDE locus in other streptococci, the comC gene was isolated and sequenced. A synthetic competence-stimulating peptide (CSP) was synthesized and shown to be able to effectively induce competence in S. oligofermentans. This CSP-induced transformation system in S. oligofermentans was used to construct green fluorescent protein (gfp) and luciferase (luc) reporter systems, both of which are driven by the lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) promoter. These reporter systems were further shown to be highly expressed in planktonic and biofilm cells, suggesting that these reporter systems can be used in future ecological studies of S. oligofermentans.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed2006

Characterization of genes associated with different phenotypes of human bladder cancer cells.

To identify genes associated with morphological phenotypes of human bladder transitional cell carcinoma, we used suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) to create a subtractive cDNA library of two established cell lines, BLZ-211 and BLS-211, derived from a patient with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, then to screen for differentially expressed genes. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to further confirm the selected differentially expressed genes. Forward and reverse subtractive cDNA libraries yielded 168 and 305 putative clones, and among them more than 90% contained the inserts. After differential screening, 36 different transcripts were obtained from 64 cDNA clones of a forward and reverse subtraction library. Among them, 17 were identified as known genes by homology, for example, Vimentin, Keratin7, DDH and UCH-L1. The remaining 19 were unknown expressed genes, and were collected as new expressed sequence tags by the GenBank dbEST database. Their function will be studied further. Thus, SSH appears to be a useful technique for identifying differentially expressed genes between cell lines or clones. Our results, as revealed by SSH, also suggest that differences in gene expression of cytoskeletal proteins might contribute to the different morphologies in BLZ-211 and BLS-211 cells.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2006

Using nanoparticles to enable simultaneous radiation and photodynamic therapies for cancer treatment.

This paper describes research into a new approach to cancer treatment through a combination of radiation and photodynamic therapies. The assumption is that supplementing conventional radiation therapy with photodynamic therapy (PDT) will enable the use of lower doses of radiation. Under this concept, scintillation or persistent luminescence nanoparticles with attached photosensitizers such as porphyrins are used as an in vivo agent for photodynamic therapy. The nanoparticle PDT agents are delivered to the treatment site. Upon exposure to ionizing radiation such as X-rays, the nanoparticles emit scintillation or persistent luminescence, which, in turn, activates the photosensitizers; as a consequence, singlet oxygen (1O2) is produced. Studies have shown that 1O2 can be effective in killing cancer cells. This is the conventional way in which PDT can augment the effectiveness of ionizing radiation. The innovation described in this study involves the use of in vivo luminescent nanoparticles so that an external light source is not required to support PDT. Consequently, application of the therapy can be more localized and the potential of damage to healthy cells is reduced. This new modality will provide an efficient, low-cost approach to PDT while still offering the benefits of augmented radiation therapy at lower doses.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

A computer-aided method to expedite the evaluation of prognosis for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

This study presented a fully-automated computer-aided method (scheme) to detect metaphase chromosomes depicted on microscopic digital images, count the total number of chromosomes in each metaphase cell, compute the DNA index, and correlate the results to the prognosis of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The computer scheme first uses image filtering, threshold, and labeling algorithms to segment and count the number of the suspicious "chromosome," and then computes a feature vector for each "detected chromosome." Based on these features, a knowledge-based classifier is used to eliminate those "non-chromosome" objects (i.e., inter-phase cells, stain debris, and other kinds of background noises). Due to the possible overlap of the chromosomes, a classification criterion was used to identify the overlapped chromosomes and adjust the initially counted number of the total chromosomes in each image. In this preliminary study with 60 testing images (depicting metaphase chromosome cells) acquired from three pediatric patients, the computer scheme generated results matched with the diagnostic results provided by the clinical cytogeneticists. The results demonstrated the feasibility or potential of using a computerized method to replace the tedious and the reader-dependent diagnostic methods commonly used in genetic laboratories to date.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2006

Inhibition of glucose-stimulated activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1 and 2 by epinephrine in pancreatic beta-cells.

Glucose sensing is essential for the ability of pancreatic beta-cells to produce insulin in sufficient quantities to maintain blood glucose within the normal range. Stress causes the release of adrenergic hormones that increase circulating glucose by promoting glucose production and inhibiting insulin release. We have shown that extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) are responsive to glucose in pancreatic beta-cells and that glucose activates ERK1/2 by mechanisms independent of insulin. Here we show that glucose-induced activation of ERK1/2 is inhibited by epinephrine through the alpha2-adrenergic receptor. Epinephrine and the selective alpha2-adrenergic agonist UK14304 reduced insulin secretion and glucose-stimulated ERK1/2 activation in a pertussis toxin-sensitive manner, implicating the alpha subunit of a Gi family member. Alpha2-adrenergic agonists also reduced stimulation of ERK1/2 by glucagon-like peptide 1 and KCl, but not by phorbol ester or nerve growth factor. Our findings suggest that alpha2-adrenergic agonists act via a Gi family member on early steps in ERK1/2 activation, supporting the idea that ERK1/2 are regulated in a manner that reflects insulin demand.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Doppler ultrasonographic findings on hepatic arterial vasospasm early after liver transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: Hepatic arterial vasospasm has not been well recognized clinically as a post-liver transplant vascular complication because of the lack of sufficient data and diagnostic standards. The goal of this study was to provide new evidence and a diagnostic model for the clinical appreciation of hepatic arterial vasospasm and evaluate the role of ultrasonography in the diagnostic process. METHODS: Nine post-orthotopic liver transplant cases were retrospectively reviewed. Multiple clinical measurements were analyzed. Routine Doppler ultrasonography was performed within 24 hours, and additional ultrasonographic examinations were conducted as indicated. Each of the 9 patients was given a single 10 mg dose of nifedipine sublingually and monitored by ultrasonography when vasospasm was suspected on the basis of the Doppler ultrasonographic results. RESULTS: Doppler ultrasonography showed high-resistance hepatic arterial flow with absence of antegrade flow and even reversal of flow during diastole both extrahepatically and intrahepatically in all cases. Ten to 45 minutes after administration of the vasodilator, antegrade diastolic flow was observed along the course of the main hepatic artery and its intrahepatic branches with the resistive indices decreasing on average from 1.0 to 0.76. In addition, the peak systolic velocities increased from 57 cm/s before nifedipine administration to 77 cm/s after administration. CONCLUSIONS: High-resistance hepatic arterial flow (resistive index = 1) early after liver transplantation is indicative of hepatic arterial vasospasm if it responds to vasodilators. Doppler ultrasonography is a useful tool for the diagnosis of this vascular complication.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

[The inhibitory effects of dumb-bell decoy oligodeoxynucleotides targeting NF-kappaB on the growth of multiple myeloma cells and IL-6 expression].

AIM: To investigate the inhibitory effects of dumb-bell decoy oligodeoxynucleotides(ODNs) targeting NF-kappaB on the transcriptional activity of NF-kappaB binding to its cis-elements, growth of multiple myeloma cells 8266 and the expression of IL-6 in 8266 cells. METHODS: The inhibitory effects of dumbbell decoy ODNs targeting NF-kappaB on the transcriptional activity of NF-kappaB was detected by electrophoretic mobility shift assay(EMSA). 8266 cells were randomly divided into 8266 cells of passage (control), dumb-bell decoy ODNs treatment, and cationic liposome treatment groups. Dumb-bell decoy ODNs of 2, 4 and 8 mg/L were cultured respectively into 8266 cells via cationic liposome vector. Then, the transfected 8266 cells and their supernatant were collected at 8, 12 and 18 h. IL-6 expression was measured by ELISA. Effect of decoy ODNs on the growth of 8266 cells stimulated with IL-6 was measured by MTT Colorimetry assay. RESULTS: Dumbbell decoy ODNs effectively inhibited the binding of NF-kappaB to its cis-elements in vitro. Different doses of decoy ODNs (2, 4 and 8 mg/L) had different inhibitory effects on IL-6 expression in 8266 cells. After decoy ODNs had been transfected into 8266 cells stimulated by IL-6 via cationic liposome vector, both the growth of 8266 cells and activity of IL-6 were inhibited. CONCLUSION: Dumb-bell decoy ODNs can effectively inhibit the growth of 8266 cells and decrease the expression of IL-6 in myeloma cells through the inhibiting NF-kappaB activity.

Cell Line, Tumor↗

PubMed2006

[pBR322-Red mediated gene knockin, sites and expression in E. coli chromosome].

Genes lacZ, lacY and lacA in the lac opron of E. coli chromosome were respectively substituted with gene luc by using plasmid pBR322-Red, selection-counterselection system kan/sacB and various strategies of Red homologous recombination including Red mediated linearized double-stranded DNA homologous recombination and Red mediated recombineering with overlapping single stranded DNA oligonucleotides. Then, a series of new strains, CWL2, CWL4 and CWL6, were constructed and we found that they can express protein Luc efficiently. To further study the expression of exogenous genes at the site of lacZ, we have constructed a strain named CWD1 by knockin the cholera toxin B subunit(ctxb) gene at the lacZ site, then we found that CWD1 can express protein CTB efficiently and CTB was secreted out of the cell. So we assured that the sites of structure genes in the lac operon of Escherichia coli chromosome were suitable for expressing foreign genes.

Cholera Toxin↗

PubMed2006

[Expression, structure prediction and functional analysis of murine single-chain fragment variable antibody against human cervical cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To amplify and express the gene encoding murine single-chain fragment variable (scFv) antibody against human cervical cancer and predict the secondary structure and three-dimensional structure of the antibody. METHODS: The gene fragments coding for the variable region of the heavy and light chains of scFv antibody against human cervical cancer were amplified respectively using recombinant DNA techniques from CsA125 hybridoma cells, and spliced together using a flexible linker to the antibody. The scFv genes were then cloned into the expression vector pCANTAB 5E and expressed in E.coli HB2151 and TG1, respectively. The scFv antibody obtained was assayed using SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, and immunohistochemical analysis, with its secondary structure and three-dimensional structure predicted with Swiss-model and 3dpssm. The physicochemical properties of the antibody were analyzed with Antheprot software. RESULTS: The expressed scFv antibody was soluble and phage-displayed. The specific binding capacity of the soluble and phage-displayed scFv antibody to the surface-associated antigen of human cervical cancer cell line were further confirmed. The scFv antibody had a relative molecular mass of 32,000 as was consistent to theoretical prediction, with pI of 7.215 and characterized to belong to alpha+beta protein. The antibody contained many protein kinase C phosphorylation sites and casein kinase II phosphorylation sites in both the VH and VL domains. Computer graphic modeling indicated that the linker was isolated from the VH and VL domains, which formed a hydrophobic pocket in the molecule to facilitate antigen binding. CONCLUSIONS: The soluble and phage displayed scFv antibody expressed in E. coli against human cervical cancer shows high and specific affinity to the cervical cancer cell line surface-associated antigen. The construction and analysis of the molecular model of the antibody may facilitate further studies in engineering of the antibody and exploration of the mechanism of the antigen-antibody interaction.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2006

[Clinical value of combined detection of LDH, TPS, CEA and beta2-MG in patients with non- Hodgkin's lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical value of combined detection of 4 tumor markers, namely lactic dehydrogenate (LDH), tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and beta2-microglobulin (beta2-MG) in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). METHODS: The serum level of LDH was determined with automatic biochemical analyzer and TPS, CEA and beta2-MG levels were determined by enzyme-linked immumosorbent assay (ELISA) in 59 patients with NHL and 40 healthy adults. RESULTS: The levels of the 4 tumor markers were significantly higher in NHL patients than in the healthy control subjects (P<0.05). After chemotherapy, the serum levels of TPS and beta2-MG were significantly lowered in the patients who showed favorable response to the treatment (P<0.05), but the levels of LDH and CEA showed no significant change (P>0.05). The serum levels of LDH, TPS, CEA and beta2-MG in the patients in a stable or progressive phase did had no significant changes after chemotherapy (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Combined detection of LDH, TPS, CEA and beta2-MG can be helpful to assist diagnosis of NHL and treatment evaluation.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

[Preliminary study of LFn-MAGE3 fusion protein expression and its biological function].

AIM: To explore the possibility of using the nontoxic form of anthrax toxin in cancer immunotherapy by LFn-MAGE3 fusion protein expression. METHODS: A fusion expression vector named PET21a-LFn was constructed by inserting LFn coding senquence into PET21a. PET21a-LFn-MAGE3 fusion protein expression vector was constructed by cloning the whole MAGE-3 gene into plasmid PET21a-LFn. Q sepharose FF and Phe HP columns were employed to purify the fusion protein. The biological activity of LFn-MAGE3 was determined by cell test of repressing the cytotoxity of LF and the tests of immunofluscence of mouse macrophage. RESULTS: The resulting plasmid expressed fusion protein LFn-MAGE3 in the soluble form in E.coli BL21, the cell tests showed that purified LFn-MAGE fusion protein was delivered into macrophage effectively with the help of PA(anthrax protective antigen). CONCLUSION: The successful delivery of fusion protein into macrophages coordinated by PA may lay the foundation for its further use in cancer immunotherapy in animal experiments.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Analysis of differentially expressed genes in fetal skin of scarless and scar-forming periods of gestational rats.

OBJECTIVE: To study the differences of gene expression between earlier gestational skin and later gestational skin of rats with the aids of single primer amplification (SPA) and high-density oligonucleotide DNA array to understand the molecular mechanism of scarless healing. METHODS: Total RNAs were isolated from fetal rat skin of the scarless (E15) and scar-forming (E18) periods of gestation (term = 21.5 days). The RNAs from earlier gestational skin (EGS) and later gestational skin (LGS) were both reversely transcribed to cDNAs, then labeled with the incorporation of fluorescent dCTP for preparing the hybridization probes by SPA method. The mixed probes were then hybridized to the oligonucleotide DNA arrays which contained 5,705 probes representing 5,705 rat genes. After highly stringent washing, these DNA arrays were scanned for fluorescent signals to display the differentially expressed genes between the 2 groups of skin. RESULTS: Among 5,705 rat genes, there were 53 genes (0.93 percent) with differentially expressed levels between EGS and LGS groups, 27 genes, including fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and follistatin were up-regulated (0.47%) and 26 genes were down-regulated (0.46%) in fetal skin during scarless period versus scar-forming period. Higher expressions of FGF2 and follistatin in EGS than those in LGS were also revealed by RT-PCR method. CONCLUSIONS: High-density oligonucleotide DNA array provided a powerful tool for investigating differential gene expression in earlier and later gestational fetal skins. This technology validates that the mechanism of fetal scarless healing is very complicate and the change of many gene expressions is associated with fetal scarless healing.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

[Screening and identification of heterogeneous phenotype-associated genes in human bladder cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To screen and identify heterogeneous phenotype-associated genes of human bladder transitional cell carcinoma. METHODS: Subtractive cDNA libraries was established by means of suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) on the basis of two human bladder transitional cell carcinoma cell lines (BLZ-211 and BLS-211) derived from the same patient, which had similar changes in chromosomes but different cell phenotypes (in terms of cell shape, susceptibility to 5-Fu and tumorigenic capacity). The positive clones in the library were selected for screening differentially expressed gene fragments by sequence analysis and blasting, and Northern blotting was performed to confirm the differentially expressed genes. RESULTS: The subtractive forward and reverse cDNA libraries consisted of 168 and 206 white clones containing 200-700 bp inserts. After differential screening, 55 cDNA clones containing 35 different transcripts were obtained, among which 15 were identified by homology analysis as known genes (such as those coding for vimentin, keratin 7, dihydrodiol dehydrogenase and thioredoxin reductase), 11 as unknown genes, and 9 as new ESTs (GenBank dbEST database accession number DY505708, DY230447-8, DR008207). CONCLUSION: SSH is a powerful method for identifying differentially expressed genes between different cell lines or clones, and characterization of the identified genes may provide useful information for understanding the genes responsible for different cell phenotypes.

Blotting, Northern↗

PubMed2006

Abnormal activation of the synuclein-gamma gene in hepatocellular carcinomas by epigenetic alteration.

Liver cancer is the fifth most common neoplastic disease and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death. Identification of the key molecular targets involved in hepatocarcinogenesis has significant therapeutic implications. In this study, by conducting immunohistochemistry, we show that the neuronal protein, synuclein-gamma (SNCG), is abnormally expressed in a high percentage of liver cancer (46/70, 65.7%). The expression of SNCG in liver cancer exhibits a clear stage-specific pattern of low expression in stage I (1/19, 5.3%) and high expression in stages III to IV (44/50, 88%). Importantly, all patients with metastatic diseases expressed SNCG in their primary tumors (15/15, 100%). Consistent with the IHC results, RT-PCR assays demonstrate that SNCG mRNA is highly expressed in the tumor tissue of advanced hepatocellular carcinomas. Analyses of the methylation status of the CpG island of the SNCG gene by methylation-specific PCR confirmed that all tumor samples contained the demethylated gene. To determine whether demethylation of SNCG is an early event of genetic abnormality in the process of hepatocarcinogenesis, we examined the methylation status of SNCG in 70 non-malignant cirrhotic liver samples and showed that 64.3% cirrhotic liver samples contained the partially or completely demethylated gene. We further show that SNCG expression in liver cancer is not restricted to HBV- and HCV-infected tumors, implying the involvement of other hepatocarcinogenic risk factors in SNCG gene reactivation. Utilizing human hepatoma-derived cell line HepG2 as an in vitro model, we demonstrate that hepatic carcinogens aflatoxin B1 and N-nitrosodimethylamine (DMN) are strong inducers of SNCG expression. Collectively, these new findings suggest that SNCG protein expression in primary tumors is a strong indicator of distant metastasis and demethylation of SNCG CpG island is an early sign of genetic abnormality in liver cirrhosis preceding hepatocarcinogenesis. Our studies also suggest that inducing demethylation of SNCG by hepatocarcinogens may represent one underlying mechanism for the aberrant expression of SNCG in HCC.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

[The relationship between serum thyroid autoantibodies, iodine intake, development and prognosis of Graves' disease].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship of thyroid autoantibodies including serum thyroid stimulating antibody (TSAb), thyroid stimulation blocking antibody (TSBAb) and iodine intake with the development and prognosis of Graves' hyperthyroidism. METHODS: A total of 63 subjects with overt hyperthyroidism were screened out from 3 Chinese rural communities with different iodine intakes at first survey. Serum TSAb, TSBAb, thyrotropin binding inhibitory immunoglobulin (TBII), thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb) were detected. The patients were followed up 2 years later. TSAb and TSBAb were measured with recombinant human thyrotropin receptor (rhTSHR)-Chinese hamster ovary cell (rhTSHR-CHO cell) bioassay. RESULTS: At the first survey, the prevalences of positive TSAb, TBII and TSBAb were found in 80.9%, 61.7% and 6.4% of the patients with Graves' disease respectively. TSAb and/or TBII were positive in 91.5% of the patients. The consistent rate of TSAb and TBII was 59.6% in the cases. All indexes mentioned above were higher in the patients than in healthy controls. Positive correlations were found between TSAb and TBII (r = 0.407), TSAb and thyroglobulin (r = 0.301), TSAb and thyroid volume (r = 0.317) respectively. The prevalence of positive TSAb (91.7%) in Graves' patients in iodine excessive area are significantly higher than those in iodine mildly deficient area (66.7%). The positive rates and the titers of TBII, TPOAb and TGAb were not different statistically among the patients in the three communities. At follow-up, the patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism were classified into euthyroid group (G1) and hyperthyroid group (G2) according to their outcomes of the disease. The TSAb titers and the thyroid volume in the cases of G1 decreased significantly, whereas the patients with highly positive TPOAb titers in the first survey and the follow-up were hard to become euthyroid and TSAb may be the secondary factor influencing the thyroid as compared with TPOAb. CONCLUSION: TSAb is more significant than TBII in diagnosing and predicting the outcomes of Graves' hyperthyroidism. The application of both TSAb and TBII could raise the positive rates of thyrotrophin receptor antibody tests. TSAb, TPOAb titers and thyroid volume were factors influencing the prognosis of Graves' hyperthyroidism.

Adolescent↗