微球囊压迫介入治疗三叉神经痛

目的：三叉神经痛是口腔科常见疾病之一,病因不清。令患者难于忍受。多年来人们探索出很多的治疗手段,这些方法均不同程度伴有疗效、副损伤及并发症上的各种缺点。经研究经介入方法利用微球囊能改变了三叉神经半月节的解剖位置从而缓解其周围压力,进而治疗了三叉神经痛且疗效很好。结论：微球囊加压介入治疗三叉神经痛是目前有效治疗三叉神经痛的方法。     

大鼠动脉内膜损伤后血管中的骨桥蛋白和基质Gla蛋白mRNA的表达变化

本实验采用球囊剥脱大鼠主动脉内皮造成血管内膜损伤的芭Ｎｏｒｔｈｅｒｎ印迹分析,逆转录聚合酶链式反应（ＲＴ－ＰＣＲ）等方法,研究大鼠主动脉内损伤后血管中的骨桥蛋白（ｏｓｔｅｏｐｏｎｔｉｎ,ＯＰＮ）和基质Ｇｌａ蛋白（ｍａｔｒｉｘ Ｇｌａ ｐｒｏｔｅｉｎ,ＭＧＰ）ｍＲＮＡ水平的动态变化。与无内皮损伤血管比较,损伤后的血管中ＯＰＮ和ＭＧＰ的ｍＲＮＡ水平明显升高,损伤后１,７,１４ｄ,两者的ｍＲＮＡ水平逐渐     

Field tests of a balloon-suspended trap system for studying insects in the canopy of tropical rainforests

A system of suspending traps from a movable balloon was developed and tested on pollinating and wood boring Coleoptera in a tropical rainforest canopy in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia. The balloons, 2.5 m in diameter, were filled with helium gas for levitation and moored in different directions by three pieces of thin rope. Traps in which benzyl acetate and ethanol were used as attractants for the pollinators and wood borers, respectively, were suspended from the balloon at different heights. The trapping results show that the balloon system can be used for studying canopy insects and their vertical distribution on a spatial and temporal scale.     

超声弹性成像联合血清TSH、TK1、LMTK3对甲状腺乳头状癌的诊断价值及与肿瘤侵袭和增殖的关系研究

摘要 目的：探讨超声弹性成像（UE）联合血清促甲状腺激素（TSH）、胸苷激酶1（TK1）、Lemur-酪氨酸激酶3（LMTK3）对甲状腺乳头状癌（PTC）的诊断价值及与肿瘤侵袭和增殖的关系。方法：选取2020年1月-2022年12月海军军医大学第二附属医院收治的91例PTC患者作为观察组。另选取本院同期90例甲状腺良性肿瘤患者作为对照组。对所有患者开展UE检查,对比两组UE参数,同时检测并对比两组血清TSH、TK1、LMTK3水平以及组织标本中侵袭基因、增殖基因的信使核糖核酸（mRNA）表达水平。Pearson法分析UE参数、血清TSH、TK1、LMTK3与侵袭基因、增殖基因mRNA表达水平的相关性。受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析UE联合血清TSH、TK1、LMTK3对PTC的诊断效能。结果：观察组超声弹性评分（ES）、弹性系数（SR）均高于对照组（均P＜0.05）。观察组血清TSH、TK1、LMTK3水平均高于对照组（均P＜0.05）。观察组去整合素-金属蛋白酶9（ADAM-9）、BCL6共抑制因子样蛋白1（BCORL1）、Xklp2靶蛋白（TPX2）及Twist1 mRNA表达水平均高于对照组（均P＜0.05）。Pearson法分析结果显示,ES、SR及血清TSH、TK1、LMTK3均和ADAM9、BCORL1、TPX2、Twist1 mRNA表达水平均呈正相关（均P＜0.05）。ES、SR及血清TSH、TK1、LMTK3联合检测对PTC诊断的灵敏度为91.52%,特异度为87.34%,曲线下面积（AUC）为0.894,联合诊断的效能均优于上述五项指标单独检测。结论：UE联合血清TSH、TK1、LMTK3对PTC具有较高的诊断价值。上述指标异常升高与PTC肿瘤侵袭、增殖有关。     

Estrogen induced changes in Akt-dependent activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and vasodilation

OBJECTIVES: Acute administration of estrogen results in vasodilation and increased nitric oxide (NO) production. We examined the hypothesis that this is due to activation of Akt/PKB which subsequently increases eNOS activity. METHODS AND RESULTS: Treatment of bovine microvascular and human umbilical endothelial cells (HUVEC) with 17-beta-estradiol (E2) (10(-9) to 10(-5)M) increased phosphorylation of Akt within 1 min and this was followed by phosphorylation of eNOS. These effects were blocked by wortmannin, a PI(3)K inhibitor and the upstream activator of Akt. The estrogen receptor antagonist, ICI 182,780, inhibited eNOS phosphorylation. E2 increased calcium dependent NOS activity and nitrite production and this was inhibited by wortmannin and ICI 182,780. E2 increased the vasodilatory response of aortic rings to acetylcholine and wortmannin blocked the effect. E2 (10(-9)M) dilated cerebral microvascular vessels under conditions of no flow, constant flow and increasing flow and this was blocked by wortmannin. Tamoxifen, a partial estrogen receptor antagonist, also dilated the microvessels. CONCLUSIONS:: E2 increases NO production through an Akt/PKB dependent pathway. This is associated with increased sensitivity to endothelial dependent dilation. In cerebral microvessels, E2 and tamoxifen produce significant dilation at low concentrations with and without acetylcholine induced stimulation of endothelial vasodilation.     

Differentiation-dependent localisation of tissue-type plasminogen activator in human bladder urothelium

Human bladder urothelium is able to secrete tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA). The aim of our study was to analyse localisation of tPA antigen in comparison to differentiation state of cells in samples of histologically normal urothelium and non-invasive tumours of the human urinary bladder. Twenty-five samples of normal urothelium and 31 non-invasive papillary tumours from 36 patients were examined. The presence of tPA antigen was evaluated immunohistochemically. Differentiation of superficial cells was assessed by the presence of urothelial cell differentiation markers, uroplakins (UPs; immunohistochemistry) and cell's apical surface architecture (scanning electron microscopy). All tissue samples stained anti-tPA positive. In normal urothelium, the intensity of anti-tPA staining was the strongest in superficial cells, which were well-differentiated. In tumours, all cell layers stained anti-tPA positive. The intensity of anti-tPA positive reaction in the upper cell layer correlated with the percentage of anti-UP positive superficial cells. Superficial cells showed various differentiation states. The localisation of tPA antigen in human in vivo tissue is not confined to the well-differentiated superficial cells. Our results suggest a positive correlation between tPA secretion and cell differentiation.     

Bisphenol A at a human exposed level can promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition in papillary thyroid carcinoma harbouring BRAFV600E mutation

Bisphenol A (BPA), a ubiquitous endocrine-disrupting chemical, alters the function of endocrine system and enhances the susceptibility to tumorigenesis in several hormone-dependent tumours as thyroid carcinoma. About 50% of papillary thyroid cancers (PTC), the most common type of thyroid malignancy, harbours the BRAF^V600E mutation. This study aimed to investigate a potential combined effect of BPA exposure and BRAF^V600E mutation on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in PTC. Firstly, the level of BPA in plasma, the evaluation of BRAF^V600E mutation and the level of EMT-related proteins in PTC samples were individually determined. Additionally, the migration, invasion, colony formation capacity and the expression of EMT-related proteins after exposure to BPA were precisely analysed in vitro thyroid cells genetically modified by the introduction of BRAF^V600E mutation. Moreover, ERK-Cox2 signalling pathway was also introduced to explore the possible mechanism in PTC development. As expected, whether the clinical investigation or cultured thyroid cells demonstrated that BPA at a concentration compatible with human exposed levels (10^-7 M) synergized with the BRAF^V600E mutation promoted EMT via the activation of ERK-Cox2 signalling pathway. Our findings offer some evidence that BPA as an environmental risk factor can facilitate the progression of PTC harbouring BRAF^V600E mutation.     

Huntingtin proteolysis releases non‐polyQ fragments that cause toxicity through dynamin 1 dysregulation

Cleavage of mutant huntingtin (HTT) is an essential process in Huntington's disease (HD), an inherited neurodegenerative disorder. Cleavage generates N‐ter fragments that contain the polyQ stretch and whose nuclear toxicity is well established. However, the functional defects induced by cleavage of full‐length HTT remain elusive. Moreover, the contribution of non‐polyQ C‐terminal fragments is unknown. Using time‐ and site‐specific control of full‐length HTT proteolysis, we show that specific cleavages are required to disrupt intramolecular interactions within HTT and to cause toxicity in cells and flies. Surprisingly, in addition to the canonical pathogenic N‐ter fragments, the C‐ter fragments generated, that do not contain the polyQ stretch, induced toxicity via dilation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and increased ER stress. C‐ter HTT bound to dynamin 1 and subsequently impaired its activity at ER membranes. Our findings support a role for HTT on dynamin 1 function and ER homoeostasis. Proteolysis‐induced alteration of this function may be relevant to disease.     

Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation in acute myocardial infarction: old and emerging indications

Background

Recent evidence questions the role of intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS). An area of increasing interest is the use of IABP for persistent ischaemia (PI). We analysed the use of IABP in patients with AMI complicated by CS or PI.

Methods

From 2008 to 2010, a total of 4076 patients were admitted to our hospital for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for AMI. Out of those, 239 patients received an IABP either because of CS or because of PI. Characteristics and outcome of those patients are investigated.

Results

The mean age of the study population was 64 ± 11 years; 75 % were male patients. Of the patients, 63 % had CS and 37 % had PI. Patients with CS had a 30-day mortality rate of 36 %; 1-year mortality was 41 %. Patients with PI had a 30-day mortality rate of 7 %; 1-year mortality was 11 %.

Conclusions

Mortality in patients admitted for primary PCI because of AMI complicated by CS is high despite IABP use. Outcome in patients treated with IABP for PI is favourable and mandates further prospective studies.