A new trick for an old dog: The application of mifepristone in the treatment of adenomyosis

Adenomyosis is also called internal endometriosis and affects about 20% of reproductive‐aged women. It seriously reduces life quality of patients because current drug therapies face with numerous challenges. Long‐term clinical application of mifepristone exhibits wonderful therapeutic effects with mild side‐effects in many disorders since 1982. Since adenomyosis is a refractory disease, we investigate whether mifepristone can be applied in the treatment of adenomyosis. In this study, we investigated the direct effects of mifepristone on human primary eutopic endometrial epithelial cells and stromal cells in adenomyosis. We found that mifepristone causes cell cycle arrest through inhibiting CDK1 and CDK2 expressions and induces cell apoptosis via the mitochondria‐dependent signalling pathway in endometrial epithelial cells and stromal cells of adenomyosis. Furthermore, mifepristone inhibits the migration of endometrial epithelial cells and stromal cells through decreasing CXCR4 expression and restricts the invasion of endometrial epithelial cells via suppression of epithelial‐mesenchymal transition in adenomyosis. We also found that mifepristone treatment decreases the uterine volume, CA125 concentration and increases the haemoglobin concentration in serum for adenomyosis patients. Therefore, we demonstrate that mifepristone could serve as a novel therapeutic drug in the treatment of adenomyosis, and therefore, the old dog can do a new trick.     

石山苣苔属四种(含一变种)植物的染色体数目和倍性研究

石山苣苔属(苦苣苔科)约41种,主要分布于我国西南石灰岩地区。到目前为止,仅其中四种的染色体数目被研究和报道,其余绝大多数物种的染色体数目和倍性尚不清楚,染色体数目和倍性在该属及其姐妹属报春苣苔属中的演变历史及其对两属物种多样性分化的影响亦不清楚。该文以叶片水培生根法获取的四种(含一变种)石山苣苔属植物 [即石山苣苔原变种(Petrocodon dealbatus var. dealbatus)、齿缘石山苣苔(Petrocodon dealbatus var. denticulatus)、弄岗石山苣苔(Petrocodon longangensis)、石山苣苔未定名种(Petrocodon sp.)]的根尖细胞为材料开展染色体实验,探索了多种不同的实验条件对染色体制片效果的影响并获取染色体数目,在石山苣苔属和报春苣苔属的系统树上追踪了染色体数目和倍性的演变历史,同时探讨染色体数目尤其是倍性变化是否对两属物种多样性分化存在影响。结果表明:(1)长度为1～1.5 cm的根尖,0.002 mol·L^-1 8-羟基喹啉溶液预处理5 h,解离4 min为较适宜的染色体制备条件。(2)四种(含一变种)石山苣苔属植物染色体数目一致,均为二倍体(2n=2x=36)。(3)两属之间及两属各自的最近共同祖先染色体数目尚不能确定,除个别物种染色体条数或倍性有变化以外,其余已知染色体数目的物种均为2n=2x=36,在两属中高度一致,石山苣苔属与报春苣苔属物种多样性分化尤其两属物种多样性巨大差异与染色体数目和基因组倍性变化无关。综上结果为石山苣苔属植物及其近缘类群染色体制备提供了参考,也为进一步对该类群的分类、系统演化和物种形成等方面的研究提供了基础数据和启示。     

CdS nanoparticles‐ enhanced chemiluminescence and determination of baicalin in pharmaceutical preparations

CdS nanoparticles (CdS NPs) of different sizes were synthesized by the citrate reduction method. It was found that CdS NPs could enhance the chemiluminescence (CL) of the luminol‐potassium ferricyanide system and baicalin could inhibit CdS NPs‐enhanced luminol‐potassium ferricyanide CL signals in alkaline solution. Based on this inhibition, a flow‐injection CL method was established for determination of baicalin in pharmaceutical preparations and human urine samples. Under optimized conditions, the linear range for determination of baicalin was 5.0 x 10^?6 to 1.0 x 10^?3 g/L. The detection limit at a signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3 was 1.7 x 10 ^?6 g/L. CL spectra, UV‐visible spectra and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate the CL mechanism. The method described is simple, selective and obviates the need of extensive sample pretreatment. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

受脱落酸调节的拟南芥F-box基因的差异表达分析

脱落酸(Abscisic acid,ABA)是一种重要的植物激素,在种子休眠的建立、种子萌发、根发育和非生物胁迫反应过程中发挥作用。F-box蛋白是E3泛素连接酶SCF复合体的组成部分,通过特异识别和调节底物蛋白水平而调控植物生长发育过程。通过分析GEO基因芯片,筛选到38个受ABA调节的拟南芥候选F-box基因。选择其中6个F-box基因,进行实时荧光定量PCR分析。研究结果与基因芯片结果基本一致。分析启动子,发现候选基因含有大量ABA、干旱和胁迫相关的顺式作用元件。分析基因表达谱,发现部分基因在保卫细胞、种皮、花粉和衰老叶片中呈现高表达;大部分基因在ABA处理、胁迫和种子吸胀过程中表达量改变显著。这些分析结果为深入研究ABA调节植物生长发育和抗逆的分子机制提供了线索。     

LacSwitchTM Inducible Mammalian Expression System in mouse Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts

Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts were transfected with the provided plasmids of LacSwitch Inducible Mammalian Expression System (Stratagene). Stable transfectants were selected, expanded and characterised. At first, the production of CAT in these cell lines could be induced by IPTG treatment, but the inducibility was lost after a few months in culture in a reproducible manner. Further analysis revealed that the transfectants did not lose the cat gene nor the lac repressor protein. As a result, we conclude that LacSwitch Inducible Mammalian Expression System needs further modification for use in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts.     

Effect of soy isoflavones on breast cancer recurrence and death for patients receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy

Background

The intake of soy isoflavones among women with breast cancer has become a public health concern, because these compounds have weak estrogenic effects. There is little clinical evidence about their safety for patients with breast cancer who are receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy.

Methods

For patients who underwent surgery for breast cancer between August 2002 and July 2003 and who were receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy, we examined associations between dietary intake of soy isoflavones and recurrence of breast cancer and death. We measured dietary intake of soy isoflavones at baseline using a validated food frequency questionnaire. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by means of multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models. We further stratified the analyses by hormonal receptor status and endocrine therapy.

Results

The median follow-up period for the 524 patients in this study was 5.1 years. Among premenopausal patients, the overall death rate (30.6%) was not related to intake of soy isoflavones (HR = 1.05, 95% CI 0.78–1.71 for the highest quartile [> 42.3 mg/day] v. the lowest quartile [< 15.2 mg/day], p for trend = 0.87). Relative to post-menopausal patients in the lowest quartile of soy isoflavone intake, the risk of recurrence for post-menopausal patients in the highest quartile was significantly lower (HR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.54–0.85, p for trend = 0.02). Inverse associations were observed in patients with estrogen and progesterone receptor positive disease and those receiving anastrozole therapy.

Interpretation

High dietary intake of soy isoflavones was associated with lower risk of recurrence among post-menopausal patients with breast cancer positive for estrogen and progesterone receptor and those who were receiving anastrozole as endocrine therapy.A variety of health benefits in terms of cancer and cardiovascular disease have been attributed to the consumption of soy foods, primarily because of soy isoflavones.¹ Three primary isoflavones account for virtually all of the isoflavones in soy beans: genistein (about 50%), daidzein (about 40%) and glycitein (about 10%). The chemical structure of soy isoflavones is similar to that of estrogens. The isoflavones are therefore considered to be possible selective estrogen receptor modulators, which may bind to estrogen receptors and selectively stimulate or inhibit estrogen-like action in various tissues.² Given that soy-based foods are now more frequently consumed than was previously the case, both as an alternative approach to treating the symptoms of menopause and for promoting cardiovascular health,^3,4 concerns have arisen about the intake of these compounds by patients with hormone-sensitive breast cancer, in whom tumour growth depends largely on estrogen. Tamoxifen and anastrozole are commonly used as adjuvant endocrine therapy for hormone-sensitive breast cancer, and these drugs are effective in preventing recurrence and prolonging survival.^5,6 In some experimental studies the inhibitory effects of tamoxifen on growth of implanted mammary tumours were negated by dietary administration of soy isoflavones,^7,8 but in other rodent cancer models, soy food appeared to enhance the beneficial effects of tamoxifen.⁹ Little is known about the potential effects of consuming soy isoflavones for patients with breast cancer who are receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy. We used data for a cohort of postoperative patients with breast cancer who were receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy to examine the relation between intake of soy isoflavones and recurrence of breast cancer and death.     

The different roles of cyclinD1-CDK4 in STP and mGluR-LTD during the postnatal development in mice hippocampus area CA1

Background

The extraembryonic tissues, visceral endoderm (VE) and extraembryonic ectoderm (ExE) are known to be important for the induction of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in mice via activation of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling pathway. We investigated whether the VE and ExE have a direct role in the specification of PGCs, or in an earlier event, namely the induction of the PGC precursors in the proximal posterior epiblast cells.

Results

We cultured embryonic day (E) 5.75 to E7.0 mouse embryos in an explant-assay with or without extraembryonic tissues. The reconstituted pieces of embryonic and extraembryonic tissues were assessed for the formation of both PGC precursors and specified PGCs. For this, Blimp1:gfp and Stella:gfp transgenic mouse lines were used to distinguish between PGC precursors and specified PGC, respectively. We observed that the VE regulates formation of an appropriate number of PGC precursors between E6.25–E7.25, but it is not essential for the subsequent specification of PGCs from the precursor cells. Furthermore, we show that the ExE has a different role from that of the VE, which is to restrict localization of PGC precursors to the posterior part of the embryo.

Conclusion

We show that the VE and ExE have distinct roles in the induction of PGC precursors, namely the formation of a normal number of PGC precursors, and their appropriate localization during early development. However, these tissues do not have a direct role during the final stages of specification of the founder population of PGCs.     

Follicle‐stimulating hormone promotes age‐related endometrial atrophy through cross‐talk with transforming growth factor beta signal transduction pathway

It is widely believed that endometrial atrophy in postmenopausal women is due to an age‐related reduction in estrogen level. But the role of high circulating follicle‐stimulating hormone (FSH) in postmenopausal syndrome is not clear. Here, we explored the role of high circulating FSH in physiological endometrial atrophy. We found that FSH exacerbated post‐OVX endometrial atrophy in mice, and this effect was ameliorated by lowering FSH with Gonadotrophin‐releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa). In vitro, FSH inhibited endometrial proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of primary cultured endometrial cells in a dose‐dependent manner. In addition, upregulation of caspase3, caspase8, caspase9, autophagy‐related proteins (ATG3, ATG5, ATG7, ATG12 and LC3) and downregulation of c‐Jun were also observed in endometrial adenocytes. Furthermore, smad2 and smad3 showed a time‐dependent activation in endometrial cells which can be partly inhibited by blocking the transforming growth factor beta receptor II (TβRII). In conclusion, FSH regulated endometrial atrophy by affecting the proliferation, autophagy and apoptosis of endometrial cells partly through activation of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) pathway.     

Evaluation of p38 MAPK pathway as a molecular signature in ulcerative colitis

Early diagnosis and treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) is clinically challenging. To overcome this problem, we explored the interrelated multiplex signaling pathway to identify molecular signatures in UC by using integrated strategy in proteomics. Intestinal mucosa of 12 UC cases and 12 normal controls underwent comparative proteomic analysis. A total of 26 unique differential proteins were identified, including 12 up-regulated and 14 down-regulated in UC group. A differential protein cluster, consisting of 11 proteins involved in p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, was deduced and validated by Western blot. Furthermore, three proteins elicited from the protein cluster, phosphorylated p38, MAWBP and galectin-3, as a molecular signature, were analyzed by immunohistochemistry on 118 UC and normal samples. Increased expression of P-p38 and down-regulated MAWBP and/or galectin-3 were detected in UC compared to normal samples (p < 0.001). This signature correlated with disease progression of UC (p < 0.01), and classified UC risk with high sensitivity (94.83 ± 2.91%) and specificity (98.33 ± 1.65%). In addition, P38 MAPK pathway modulated the expression of the protein clusters in macrophage cell line as evidenced by the alteration with specific inhibitor SB203580. These results indicate that molecular signature of P38 MAPK pathway might be a potential biomarker for evaluating UC risk.