IN VIVO EFFECTS OF CARDIOTROPHIN-1

Cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1) is a recently discovered cytokine that was isolated based on its ability to induce cardiac myocyte hypertrophy in vitro. In this study, the effects of chronic administration of CT-1 to mice (0.5 or 2 μg by intraperitoneal injection, twice a day for 14 days) were determined. A dose-dependent increase in both the heart weight and ventricular weight to body ratios was observed in the treated groups. The body weights of the animals were unaffected. These results indicate that CT-1 can induce cardiac hypertrophy in vivo. CT-1 was not specific for the heart, however. It stimulated the growth of the liver, kidney, and spleen, and caused atrophy of the thymus. CT-1 administration also increased the platelet counts by 70%, with no change in mean platelet volume. Red blood cell counts were increased in the treated animals, and there was a concomitant increase in haemoglobin concentration. Thus, CT-1 has a broad spectrum of biological activities in vivo. This observation is consistent with previous in-vitro findings showing that the mRNA for CT-1 is expressed in several tissues, and that CT-1 can function through binding to the leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) receptor and signalling through the gp130 pathway.     

构建限制性培养条件下细菌群体生长模型的探讨

依据E.coli菌株在摇瓶和发酵罐培养条件下菌群增长过程光密度值的变化,在改进了数据平滑和微分求导方法的基础上,以瞬时速率和瞬时增量为目标函数表征菌群增长的动力学过程.瞬时速率表现为指数衰减模式,而瞬时增量的过程曲线因接种量而异,由它们所表征的生长动力学过程都不存在延迟期和稳定期.动力学曲线的形状由接种物中含有的处于分裂状态的细胞数所决定,它是菌群内源性的增长能力(来自细胞分裂的连续发生)和由增长引发的外源性阻抑力(营养物质的减少和代谢产物的增加)相互作用的结果.由瞬时速率和瞬时增量还可推导出菌群增长的倍增时间及体积生产效率等参量.研究结果可为解决logistic方程和Monod方程在拟合菌群增长过程曲线时遇到的不确定性等难题提供有效的数学分析方法.     

Genetic polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferase M1 and bladder cancer risk: a meta-analysis of 26 studies

Studies investigating the association between glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) polymorphism and bladder cancer risk report conflicting results. The objective of this study was to quantitatively summarize the evidence for such a relationship. We performed a systematic search of the National Library of Medline and Embase databases. This meta-analysis included 26 case-control studies, which included 5029 bladder cancer cases and 6680 controls. The combined results based on all studies showed that the GSTM1 null genotype was associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer (OR = 1.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.35, 1.57). When stratifying for race, results were similar among Asians (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.27, 2.01) and Caucasians (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.33, 1.57) except Africans (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 0.76, 2.06). When stratifying by the smoking, stage, grade, and histological type of bladder cancer, we found no statistical association. Our meta-analysis suggests that the GSTM1 null genotype is associated with a modest increase in the risk of bladder cancer.     

Telomeres,cardiovascular aging,and potential intervention for cellular senescence

A consistent association has been observed between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and atherosclerosis, but the mechanisms underlying these associations are still not well understood. Premature biology aging was evident in atherosclerotic plaques, characterized by reduced cell proliferation, irreversible growth arrest and apoptosis, and telomere attrition. As atherosclerosis is a state of chronic low-grade inflammation and increased oxidative stress, shortened LTL in patients with atherosclerosis might stem from the two sources, one is an accelerated rate in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) replication to replace leukocytes consumed in the inflammatory process, and another is the increase in the loss of telomere repeats per replication. Thus, diminished HSC reserves at birth and age-dependent telomere attrition afterward are mirrored in shortened LTL during the adulthood. In addition, the inter-individual variation of LTL in the general population can be partly explained by genetic factors regulating telomere maintenance and the rate of HSCs replication. Atherosclerosis is an aging-related disease, and practically all humans develop atherosclerosis if they live long enough. Here we overview the potential roles of LTL dynamics in the imbalance between injurious oxidative stress/inflammation and endothelial repair during the pathogenesis of age-related atherosclerosis, and discuss the possibility that preventing accelerated cellular senescence is a potential target in prevention of atherosclerosis.