Objective Calcium-sensing receptor(CaSR)belongs to the family C of G-protein coupled receptors.This study was carried out to observe the influence and mechanism of CaSR on anoxia/reoxygenation(A/R)-induced cardiomyocytes apoptosis.Methods The model of A/R injury was established through anoxia for 2 hours and reoxygenation for 24 hours in cultured cardiomyocytes of neonatal rats.Cardiomyocytes were randomly divided into three groups:control group,A/R group and GdCl3 group(300μmol/L GdCl3 was added to the culture medium at the beginning of reoxygenation).Apoptosis of cardiomyocytes was assessed by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide(MTT)and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL).The expression of CaSR,cysteine-requiring aspartate protease(caspase)-3,9 and cytochrom c (Cytc)were analyzed by Western blot.Results The TUNEL showed that cardiomyocytes apoptosis was 17%±3% in A/R group,and was higher than that in the control group.At the same time,expression of CaSR in A/R group was markedly increased in response to control group.Compared with A/R group,GdCl3,a specific activator of CaSR,further enhanced cardiomyocytes apoptosis to (28±4)% and decreased the ability of cardiomyocytes to (51.2±6.8)%,along with an increment in CaSR,caspase-3,caspase-9 and Cytc expressions.Conclusion CaSR is involved in anoxia/reoxygenation-induced apoptosis of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes through Cytc-caspase-3 pathway.

The relationship between M3 cholinergic receptor agonist (carbachol) hyperstimulation-induced pancreatic acinar cellular injury and trypsinogen activation or NF-kappaB activation in rats was studied in vitro. Rat pancreatic acinar cells were isolated, cultured and treated with carbachol, the active protease inhibitor (pefabloc), and NF-kappaB inhibitor (PDTC) in vitro. Intracellular trypsin activity was measured by using a fluorogenic substrate. The cellular injury was evaluated by measuring the leakage of LDH from pancreatic acinar cells. The results showed that as compared with control group, 10(-3) mol/L carbachol induced a significant increase of the intracellular trypsin activity and the leakage of LDH from pancreatic acinar cells. Pretreatment with 2 mmol/L pefabloc could significantly decrease the activity of trypsin and the leakage of LDH from pancreatic acinar cells (P < 0.01) following the treatment with a high concentration of carbachol (10(-3) mol/L) in vitro. The addition of 10(-2) mol/L PDTC didn't result in a significant decrease in the activity of trypsin and the leakage of LDH from pancreatic acinar cells treated with a high concentration of carbachol (10(-3) mol/L) in vitro (P > 0.05). It was concluded that intracellular trypsinogen activation is likely involved in pancreatic acinar cellular injury induced by carbachol hyperstimulation in vitro. NF-kappaB activation may not be involved in pancreatic acinar cellular injury induced by carbachol hyperstimulation in vitro.
Carbachol/*pharmacology ; Cholinergic Agonists/pharmacology ; NF-kappa B/*metabolism ; Pancreas/metabolism ; Pancreas/*pathology ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptor, Muscarinic M3/agonists ; Trypsinogen/*metabolism

Objective To observe the difference of lung injury between toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mutant mice and wild type mice in a model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced acute lung injury (ALI),discuss the role of TLR4 in ALI.Methods Different doses of LPS solution (1,5mg?kg~(-1)) were injected in vein tail to reproduce ALI model in both TLR4 mutant (TLR4~(-/-)) and wild type (WT,TLR4~+(/+)) mice.Lung tissues were collected for gross and micrographic histological injury analysis and for assessment of lung edema.Meanwhile,the levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) in lung tissues in both strains were assessed to evaluate the extent of polymorphological neutrophils (PMN) infiltration.Results The gross and micrographic injury of lung was milder in TLR4 mutant mice than that in wild type mice.The extent of lung edema (W/D) was also reduced compared with wild type mice,especially in 5 mg?kg~(-1) group [(4.08?0.1)vs.(4.55+0.2),n=10,t=12.71,P＜0.01].With high dosage of LPS,the value of W/D in both mice strains was higher than that in sham operation group (P＜0.01).The extent of PMN infiltration in lung tissues in TLR4 mutant mice was reduced compared with wild type mice.But they were higher than sham operated mice (P＜0.01).Conclusion TLR4 May involve in the development of ALI,by sequestration of PMN into lung tissues.

The effects and mechanisms of exogenous phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted from chromosome ten (PTEN) gene on phosphatase activity-dependent apoptosis of breast cancer cell line MDA468 were investigated. PTEN gene packaged with lipofectin was transferred into breast cancer cell line MDA468 and parental MDA468 cells served as controls. RT-PCR and Western blot were done to detect the expression of target genes. The expression of phosphospecific protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) protein stimulated by epidermal growth factor (EGF) was also detected. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry with a double-staining method using FITC-conjugated annexin V and PI. MDA468 cells transfected with PTEN gene could express PTEN mRNA and protein. PTEN decreased the phosphorylation level of AKT protein and down-regulated FAK protein expression in MDA468 stimulated by EGF. The apoptosis rate was 21.68%. PTEN induced breast cancer apoptosis phosphatase activity-dependently. The mechanism is possibly related with phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB)/AKT signaling pathway. Those results may provide new clues on the gene therapy in breast cancer.

Over-expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), an ATP-dependent drug efflux pump, represents one of the major mechanisms that contribute to multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells. This study examined the effects of troglitazone, a ligand of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), on P-gp-mediated MDR in SGC7901/VCR cells (a vincristine-resistant human gastric cancer cell line). The expression of P-gp was detected by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The SGC7901/VCR cells were treated with 0.1 mg/L vincristine (VCR) alone or in combination with 1, 5, 10 mumol/L troglitazone for 24 h. PPARgamma was measured by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). The intracellular concentration of Rhodamine123 (Rh123, a fluorescent P-gp substrate) was assayed to evaluate the activity of P-gp. The cell cycle and apoptosis were measured by flow cytometry. The results showed that the P-gp was increasingly expressed in SGC7901, BGC823 and SGC7901/VCR cells in turn, suggesting that MDR in the SGC7901/VCR cells was mediated by the increased expression of P-gp. In the SGC7901/VCR cells, the expression level of total PPARgamma was increased, however, the protein level and activity of PPARgamma in the nuclei of cells decreased significantly. Troglitazone elevated the PPARgamma activity in SGC7901/VCR cells in a dose-dependent manner. Troglitazone decreased the P-gp expression and markedly enhanced the accumulation of Rh123 in SGC7901/VCR cells in a dose-dependent manner. We also found that troglitazone significantly increased the percentage of SGC7901/VCR cells in the G(2)/M phase and decreased the cell percentage in G(1) and S phase in a dose-dependent manner. Troglitazone significantly increased the apoptotic rate of SGC7901/VCR cells treated by VCR or ADR in a dose-dependent manner. It was concluded that P-gp-overexpressed SGC7901/VCR cells have minor endogenous PPARgamma activity. Elevation of the PPARgamma activity by troglitazone can reverse P-gp-mediated MDR via down-regulating the expression and activity of P-gp in SGC7901/VCR cells. It was suggested that troglitazone can dramatically enhance the sensitivity of P-gp-mediated MDR cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents.

Research on medicinal model organism is one of the core technologies to promote the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The research progress of Salvia miltiorrhiza as medicinal model plant is summarized in this paper. The genome of S. miltiorrhiza is small and its life cycle is short, as well as this plant can be stably genetically transformed. Because S. miltiorrhiza possesses the important medicinal and economic values, recently the transcriptome and genome of S. miltiorrhiza have been significantly recovered. The research prospect of S. miltiorrhiza as medicinal model plant in TCM was discussed, including biosynthesis of active components and their genetic regulation, relationship between quality of TCM and ecological environments, and selective breeding of good quality lines. Furthermore, as medicinal model plant, the construction of mutant library for S. miltiorrhiza, the genome map with high quality, and the functional genome should be investigated. Accompanying modern investigation of life sciences, the platform for medicinal model plant, S. miltiorrhiza, will be promoted to be established. It is important to develop the ethnopharmacology and new drugs around the world.

Objective To investigate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in patients with aortic dissection (AD). Methods Questionnaire analysis was applied to patients with or without AD according to Berlin questionnaire. Questionnaires were collected and common characters and related symptoms were compared between the two groups. Further comparison on related symptoms was made between the AD group and hypertensive patients in the control group. Results Totally 70 questionnaires were collected with 33 for the AD group (29 males and 4 females) and 37 for the control (29 males and 8 females). The average age (P ＜0.05) was 50.9 years for the AD group (range 32 to 70) and 53.4 years for the control (range 25 to 83). Snoring occurred in 29 AD patients (87. 88% ) and in 22 control patients (59. 46% ) (P ＜ 0. 05 ). Snoring everyday occurred in 19 AD patients (57. 58% ) and in 12 controls (32.43%) (P ＜0.05). Loud snoring was reported from 23 AD patients (69.70%) and 10 controls (27.03%) (P ＜0. 05). Apnea occurred in 15 AD patients (45. 45% ) and 8 controls (21.62%) ( P ＜0. 05). Apnea nearly everyday occurred in 9 AD patients ( 27.27% ) and 5 controls ( 13. 51% ) ( P ＜0. 05). Fatigue after sleep occurred in 23 AD patients (69. 70% ) and 15 controls (40. 54% ) (P ＜0. 05).Fatigue nearly everyday after sleep occurred in 10 AD patients (30. 30% ) and 6 controls ( 16. 22% ) ( P ＜0. 05). Hypertension was found in 28 AD patients ( 84. 85% ) and 20 controls ( 54. 05% ) ( P ＜ 0. 05 ).The average age of hypertensive control were 62 ± 16, greater than that of AD group (P ＜0. 05). In the 20 hypertensive control patients, loud snoring in 7 (35%), lessen than that of AD group (P ＜0.05).Compared with hypertensive controls, AD patients had greater body length ( P ＜ 0. 05 ) and lesser waist-tohip ration (P ＜ 0. 05 ). Conclusions Compared with normal control, OSAS is more common in AD patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of epigallocatechin-3 -gallate (EGCG) on apoptosis of cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) induced by acrylamide (ACR). METHODS: CGNs were cultured with the addition of 5 mmol/L ACR for 24 hours to set up a cell injury model. Prior to ACR treatment, CGNs were treated with different concentrations of EGCG (0, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 μmol/L) for 48 hours. Neuronal viability was measured with metylthiazdyltetrazolium (MTT). The activity of SOD and the content of MDA were assayed. Hoechst33342 staining was employed to observe morphological changes of the cell nucleus. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to measure expression of bcl- 2 mRNA and bax mRNA. RESULTS: At the concentrations of 10, 25 or 50 μmol/L, EGCG played a protective role against ACRinduced CGN injury. Compared with ACR injured group (no EGCG), EGCG improved the cell viability, enhanced SOD activity, decreased the level of MDA as well as the cell apoptosis ratio (P<0.05). Bcl-2 mRNA expression was increased and bax mRNA expression was reduced (P<0.05). 25 μmol/L EGCG had the largest effect. However, 100 μmol/L EGCG did not have a significantly protective effect. CONCLUSION EGCG at appropriate concentration has protective effect against the CGNs on apoptosis induced by ACR.
Acrylamide ; toxicity ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Catechin ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Cells, Cultured ; Cerebellum ; cytology ; drug effects ; Cytoplasmic Granules ; Female ; Male ; Neurons ; cytology ; drug effects ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

The recombinant defective adenovirus vector carrying human PTEN tumor suppressor gene was constructed by using AdEasy-1 system and its expression was detected in human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-468. Human PTEN cDNA was cloned into adenovirus shuttle plasmid pAdTrack-CMV to generate a recombinant plasmid pAdTrack-CMV-PTEN, then homologeous recombination was carried out in the E. coli BJ5183 by contransforming linearized shuttle vector with adenovirus backbone plasmid pAdEasy-1. The newly recombined defective adenovirus vector Ad-PTEN containing green fluorescent protein (GFP) was packaged and propagated in 293 cells. After being purified by cesium chloride gradient centrifugation, the adenovirus was transfected into human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-468 in vitro. The expression of PTEN mRNA and protein in infected human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-468 was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. The recombinant defective adenovirus vector carrying PTEN gene was constructed successfully. The viral titer of purified adenovirus was 2. 5 X 10(10) pfu/mL, and about 70% breast cancer cells were infected with Ad-PTEN when multiplicity of infection (MOI) reached 50. The exogenous PTEN mRNA and protein were expressed in MDA-MB-468 cells infected with Ad-PTEN by RT-PCR and Western blot. The recombinant defective adenovirus vector of PTEN gene was constructed successfully using AdEasy-1 system rapidly, which paved a sound foundation for gene study of breast cancer.

In order to construct an expression vector carrying small hairpin (sh) RNA (shRNA) for toll-like receptor 4 mRNA and a reporter gene of enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) and study the inhibition of cytokine release by RAW264.7 cell induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation through transfection and expression of shRNA targeting TLR4 gene via the RNAi mechanism, the reporter gene plasmid pEGFP-C1 (4.7 kb) and psiRNA-hHlneo (2979 bp) were used. The H1 promotor and double Bbs I restrict endoenzyme site were cloned from plasmid psiRNA-hH1neo and reconstructed them into plasmid pEGFP-C1 in the Mlu I restrict endoenzymic site, forming plasmid pEGFP-H1/siRNA, which contained Bbs site and reporter EGFP gene. Then an oligonuclear hairpin sequence targeting TLR4 gene was designed by internet tool and inserted into the plasmid pEGFP-H1/siRNA forming plasmid pEGFP-H1/TLR4-siRNA. After transfection of pEGFP-H1/TLR4-siRNA into RAW264.7 cells, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) release by the cells after stimulation by LPS was detected. The results showed that the constructed pEGFP-H1/TLR4-siRNA carrying hairpin RNA for TLR4 gene and reporter EGFP gene were proven to be right by restriction endonuclease analysis. The expression of EGFP gene was (50.37+/-8.23) % and after transfection of the plasmid pEGFP-H1/ TLR4-siRNA the level of TNF-alpha released by RAW264.7 cell was down regulated. It was concluded that shRNA targeting TLR4 gene could inhibit the TNF-alpha release by RAW264.7 cells evoked by LPS.