选择性环氧合酶-2抑制剂联合奥曲肽诱导人胃癌细胞的凋亡

目的探讨选择性环氧合酶-2抑制剂NS-398与奥曲肽联合应用对人胃癌细胞株BGC-823生长、凋亡的影响。方法体外培养BGC-823细胞,分别用NS-398(100μmol/L)与奥曲肽(1μmol/L)单独及联合处理不同时间后,倒置显微镜观察细胞形态学变化;观察生长曲线的变化;流式细胞仪检测细胞凋亡率;实时定量(Real-time)PCR检测COX-2mRNA的表达;Western blot法检测Caspase-3蛋白表达。结果倒置显微镜下,对照组BGC-823细胞生长良好,药物处理后,细胞变小、变圆,悬浮,联合组细胞形态学改变显著强于单纯用药组;药物作用后,细胞生长受抑制,出现负增长,联合组作用明显强于单纯用药组;流式细胞仪检测表明联合用药组诱导BGC-823细胞的凋亡率明显高于单一用药组和对照组(P0.01);各处理组均使BGC-823细胞COX-2mRNA表达下调(P0.05);药物处理后细胞Caspase-3蛋白表达明显增加。结论 NS-398、奥曲肽联合可协同抑制BGC-823细胞生长、增殖,其机制可能与下调COX-2mRNA表达、诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡相关。     

上尿路腔内手术中降低肾盂压力机制与方法的研究进展

1983年,Wickham教授首先提出微创外科(minimally invasive surgery),此后,微创泌尿外科逐渐成外具有科学意义上的微创外科学的一个重要的分支学科。上尿路的腔内手术,包括PNL(Percutaneous nephrolithotomy)、URS(Ureteroscopic)、f-URS(Flexible ureteroscope)等。与传统手术相比,上尿路的腔内手术具有创伤小、时间短、恢复快、并发症少,并且可以直视下进行手术操作,临床应用较广泛。在腔内操作时,为保证术中手术视野的清晰度,手术多采用生理盐水(NS)进行灌注,进而导致肾盂压力升高,引起各项潜在的危害。因此如何在上尿路腔内手术中降低肾盂压力成为一个研究的热点。近些年,腔内器械的改进,包括镜体灌注通道入路与出路的分开设计、回流鞘的设计、压力泵的改进,在一定程度上降低了肾盂压力。灌注液体中加入相应浓度的药物,抑制上尿路平滑肌的蠕动与收缩,也在一定程度上降低了肾盂压力。本文介绍了上尿路腔内手术中肾盂压力的影响因素,回顾了肾盂压力升高后的危害,分析了肾盂压力升高机制,总结了肾盂压力降低的各种方案以及将来的应用前景。     

Glucocorticoid receptor and sequential P53 activation by dexamethasone mediates apoptosis and cell cycle arrest of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells

Glucocorticoids play a pivotal role in the proliferation of osteoblasts, but the underlying mechanism has not been successfully elucidated. In this report, we have investigated the molecular mechanism which elucidates the inhibitory effects of dexamethasone on murine osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. It was found that the inhibitory effects were largely attributed to apoptosis and G1 phase arrest. Both the cell cycle arrest and apoptosis were dependent on glucocorticoid receptor (GR), as they were abolished by GR blocker RU486 pre-treatment and GR interference. G1 phase arrest and apoptosis were accompanied with a p53-dependent up-regulation of p21 and pro-apoptotic genes NOXA and PUMA. We also proved that dexamethasone can't induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest when p53 was inhibited by p53 RNA interference. These data demonstrate that proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cell was significantly and directly inhibited by dexamethasone treatment via aberrant GR activation and subsequently P53 activation.     

Genome-Wide Association Study Dissects the Genetic Architecture of Seed Weight and Seed Quality in Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)

Association mapping can quickly and efficiently dissect complex agronomic traits. Rapeseed is one of the most economically important polyploid oil crops, although its genome sequence is not yet published. In this study, a recently developed 60K Brassica Infinium^® SNP array was used to analyse an association panel with 472 accessions. The single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the array were in silico mapped using ‘pseudomolecules’ representative of the genome of rapeseed to establish their hypothetical order and to perform association mapping of seed weight and seed quality. As a result, two significant associations on A8 and C3 of Brassica napus were detected for erucic acid content, and the peak SNPs were found to be only 233 and 128 kb away from the key genes BnaA.FAE1 and BnaC.FAE1. BnaA.FAE1 was also identified to be significantly associated with the oil content. Orthologues of Arabidopsis thaliana HAG1 were identified close to four clusters of SNPs associated with glucosinolate content on A9, C2, C7 and C9. For seed weight, we detected two association signals on A7 and A9, which were consistent with previous studies of quantitative trait loci mapping. The results indicate that our association mapping approach is suitable for fine mapping of the complex traits in rapeseed.     

Vitreous and Plasma VEGF Levels as Predictive Factors in the Progression of Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy after Vitrectomy

Purpose

To investigate the vitreous and plasma levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and to determine whether they predict a disease prognosis after primary vitrectomy.

Methods

Fifty patients (50 eyes) with PDR who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and 56 healthy controls (56 eyes) were enrolled in this retrospective study. Clinical data were collected and analyzed. Vitreous and plasma VEGF concentrations were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. VEGF levels and clinical data were compared and analyzed to see if they provide a prognosis of PDR progression after primary vitrectomy at more than 6 months follow-up. Correlation of VEGF concentrations between vitreous fluid and plasma was analyzed.

Results

The average BCVA was significantly improved after surgery (P<0.001). Vitreous and plasma VEGF levels were significantly elevated in PDR patients than those in healthy controls (P _vitreous<0.001; P _plasma<0.001). Both vitreous and plasma VEGF levels were significantly higher in PDR progression group than in stable group (P _vitreous<0.001; P _plasma = 0.004). Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that the increased vitreous VEGF level was associated with the progression of PDR after primary PPV (OR = 1.539; P = 0.036). Vitreous VEGF level was positively associated with plasma VEGF level in PDR patients (P<0.001).

Conclusion

The increased VEGF level in vitreous fluid may be identified as a significant predictive factor for the outcome of vitrectomy in patients with PDR.     

Structural Insights into the Catalytic Mechanism of Synechocystis Magnesium Protoporphyrin IX O-Methyltransferase (ChlM)

Magnesium protoporphyrin IX O-methyltransferase (ChlM) catalyzes transfer of the methyl group from S-adenosylmethionine to the carboxyl group of the C13 propionate side chain of magnesium protoporphyrin IX. This reaction is the second committed step in chlorophyll biosynthesis from protoporphyrin IX. Here we report the crystal structures of ChlM from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in complex with S-adenosylmethionine and S-adenosylhomocysteine at resolutions of 1.6 and 1.7 Å, respectively. The structures illustrate the molecular basis for cofactor and substrate binding and suggest that conformational changes of the two “arm” regions may modulate binding and release of substrates/products to and from the active site. Tyr-28 and His-139 were identified to play essential roles for methyl transfer reaction but are not indispensable for cofactor/substrate binding. Based on these structural and functional findings, a catalytic model is proposed.     

Pulmonary Toxocariasis Mimicking Invasive Aspergillosis in a Patient with Ulcerative Colitis

A 45-year-old-male who had underlying ulcerative colitis and presented with fever and dry cough. Initially, the patient was considered to have invasive aspergillosis due to a positive galactomannan assay. He was treated with amphotericin B followed by voriconazole. Nevertheless, the patient deteriorated clinically and radiographically. The lung biopsy revealed eosinophilic pneumonia, and ELISA for Toxocara antigen was positive, leading to a diagnosis of pulmonary toxocariasis. After a 10-day treatment course with albendazole and adjunctive steroids, the patient recovered completely without any sequelae. Pulmonary toxocariasis may be considered in patients with subacute or chronic pneumonia unresponsive to antibiotic agents, particularly in cases with eosinophilia.     

Identification of immunodominant Th1-type T cell epitopes from Schistosoma japonicum 28 kDa glutathione-S-transferase, a vaccine candidate

Th1-type cytokines produced by the stimulation of Th 1-type epitopes derived from defined schistosome-associated antigens are correlated with the development of resistance to the parasite infection. Schistosoma mansoni 28 kDa glutathione-S-transferase （Sm28GST）, a major detoxification enzyme, has been recognized as a vaccine candidate and a phase II clinical trial has been carried out. Sheep immunized with recombinant Schistosoma japonicum 28GST （Sj28GST） have shown immune protection against the parasite infection. In the present study, six candidate peptides （P1, P2, P3, P4, P7 and P8） from Sj28GST were predicted, using software, to be T cell epitopes, and peptides P5 and P6 were designed by extending five amino acids at the N-terminal and C-terminal of P1, respectively. The peptide 190-211 aa in Sj28GST corresponding to the Th1-type epitope （190-211 aa） identified from Sm28GST was selected and named P9. The nine candidate peptides were synthesized or produced as the fusion protein with thioredoxin in the pET32c（＋）/BL21（DE3） system. Their capacity to induce a Th1-type response in vitro was measured using lymphocyte proliferation, cytokine detection experiments and flow cytometry. The results showed that P6 （73-86 aa） generated the strongest stimulation effect on T cells among the nine candidate peptides, and drove the highest level of IFN-γ, and IL-2. Therefore, P6 is a functional Thl-type T cell epitope that is different from that in Sm28GST, and will be useful for the development of effective vaccines which can trigger acquired immunity against S. japonicum. Moreover, our strategy of identifying the Thl-type epitope by a combination of software prediction and experimental confirmation provides a convenient and cost-saving alternative approach to previous methods.     

醛固酮对新生大鼠心肌成纤维细胞分泌ET、NO功能的影响

目的: 探讨醛固酮对新生大鼠心肌成纤维细胞(CFs)分泌内皮素(ET)、一氧化氮(NO)的影响.方法: 采用胰酶消化法和差速贴壁分离法获取CFs,应用放射免疫分析法、硝酸还原酶法分别测定不同条件下培养的CFs培养液中的ET、NO水平.结果: 一定浓度范围内的醛固酮可按剂量依赖方式促进CFs分泌ET,抑制CFs分泌NO,使ET/NO比值上升;螺内酯可阻断醛固酮的上述作用(P<0.01).结论: 醛固酮可能通过影响CFs分泌ET、NO,从而改变生物活性物质网络平衡关系,发挥其促心肌纤维化作用.     

饥饿和饱食状态下丰鲤与其亲本的活动水平和活动节律

使用Videomex-V影像运动监视系统全天监测丰鲤(Cyprinus carpiovar.Xingguo♀×Cyprinus carpiovar.mirror splittered♂)、散鳞镜鲤(Cyprinus carpiovar.mirror splittered♂)和兴国红鲤(Cyprinus carpiovar.Xingguo♀)的活动(每种鱼12条,饥饿和饱食各6条)。结果显示,3种鱼饥饿时的活动水平都显著低于饱食时,但3种鱼白昼或夜间的相对活动水平都不受摄食与否的显著影响;饥饿或饱食时,丰鲤的活动水平与散鳞镜鲤都无显著差异,并且都显著高于兴国红鲤;丰鲤饥饿时的活动节律与散鳞镜鲤和兴国红鲤都不相似,饱食时的活动节律与散鳞镜鲤更相似。总的来看,丰鲤的活动水平和活动节律与散鳞镜鲤更为相似[动物学报51(5):806-812,2005]。