Objective To establish a cell line with repressed expression of p53 by transfecting a plasmid construct expressing short hairpin RNA(shRNA)targeting p53 into human skin fibroblasts(HSFs),and to evaluate the effect of repression of p53 expression on the senescence in HSFs.Methods The eukaryotic expressing plasmid pGCsi-p53 containing shRNA targeting p53 gene was transfected into HSFs with lipofectamine.Subsequently,the cells were selected by G418,and resistant cell clones were chosen and expanded.Reverse transcription-PCR and real time fluorescence-based quanitative PCR were performed to determine the expression of p53 gene,and Western blot to detect the expression of p53 protein in HSFs.The senescence in HSFs was evaluated by SA β-gal staining,and cell proliferation by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium(MTT)assay.Results A HSF clone with repressed expression of p53 was established successfully.The expressions of p53 mRNA and protein were downregulated in transfected HSFs compared with untransfected HSFs(0.09 ± 0.03 vs.0.32 ± 0.04,0.11 ± 0.04 vs.0.84 ± 0.05,both P ＜ 0.01).The percentage of senescent cells was 13.47％ ± 1.01％ in the transfected HSFs,significantly lower than that in untransfected HSFs(18.10％ ± 0.66％,P ＜ 0.05).As MTT assay showed,the proliferation was accelerated in transfected HSFs compared with untransfected HSFs(P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The repression of p53 expression decelerates the senescence in HSFs,but promotes the proliferation of HSFs.

Objective:To investigate the expression levels of CXCR1,CXCR2 and their common ligand CXCL8 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and liver biopsy from the patients with hepatitis B related hepatocellular carcinoma and their clinical significances.Methods:Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA levels of CXCR1,CXCR2,CXCL8 in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of thirty-six hepatitis B related hepatocellular carcinoma and the protein levels of CXCR1 and CXCR2 and CXCL8 in liver biopsy were detected by SP immunohistochemical method.The level of C-reactive protein in serum was determined by chemiluminescence immunoassay respectively.Then,the correlations between CRP and the mRNA of CXCR1,CXCR2 and CXCL8 were analyzed.Results:The mRNA levels of CXCR1 (0.952 7±0.197 2),CXCR2 (0.896 9±0.173 0),CXCL8 (1.771 9±0.248 9) in the PBMCs of hepatitis B related hepatocellular carcinoma were significantly higher than those in controls (P＜0.01).And the protein levels of CXCR1,CXCR2 and CXCL8 were also obviously increased in liver biopsy of hepatitis B related hepatocellular carcinoma (P＜0.05).In addition,there was positive correlations between the level of serum C-reactive protein and the mRNA expression of CXCR1 (r =0.54,P＜0.01),CXCR2 (r =0.49,P＜0.01),CXCL8 (r =0.63,P＜0.01).Conclusion:The levels of CXCR1,CXCR2 and CXCL8 significantly increased in hepatitis B related hepatocellular carcinoma patients and positively correlated with serum CRP,suggesting that CXCR1,CXCR2 and their common ligand CXCL8 signal transduction process may play a key role in the pathological process of hepatitis B related hepatocellular carcinoma,which may provide a new direction for the immune intervention therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of CXC chemokine receptors 1 and 2 (CXCR1 and CXCR2) and CXCL8 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and liver biopsy tissues from patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC).Methods Serum specimens were collected from 36 patients with PHC, 30 patients with liver cirrhosis and 28 healthy subjects.Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to measure the expression of CXCR1, CXCR2 and CXCL8 at mRNA level in PBMCs.Streptavidin-perosidase (SP) immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of CXCR1, CXCR2 and CXCL8 at protein level in liver biopsy tissues.Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and ferritin (FER) in the serum specimens were detected by chemiluminescence immunoassay.Then the correlations between these markers were analyzed.Results All of the results showed that the expression of CXCR1, CXCR2 and CXCL8 at mRNA level in PBMCs from the PHC group were higher than those of the healthy control group (P<0.01) as well as those of the liver cirrhosis group (P<0.05).Up-regulated expression of CXCR1, CXCR2 and CXCL8 in patients with PHC were associated with the depth of tumor invasion, lymph node or distant metastasis, clinical stage and levels of CRP, AFP and FER in serum (P<0.05).The expression of CXCR1, CXCR2 and CXCL8 at protein level in liver biopsy tissues were also significantly increased in the PHC group in comparison with those of the healthy control group as indicated by the result of SP immunohistochemistry (P<0.05).Conclusion Levels of CXCR1, CXCR2 and CXCL8 in the patients with PHC are significantly increased and positively correlated with the levels of AFP, FER and CRP in serum, suggesting that the signal transduction process mediated by CXCR1, CXCR2 and their common ligand CXCL8 may play a key role in the pathological process of PHC.This study may provide a potential new strategy for immune intervention in hepatocellular cancer.

Objective To observe the expression levels of Mig in the patients with chronic hepatitis B .Methods The study pop‐ulation consisted of 88 chronic hepatitis B patients and 53 healthy controls .The ELISA ,RT‐PCR and Western‐blotting were used for analysing the expression levels of Mig in serum ,peripheral blood mononuclear cells and liver tissue of the patients with chronic hepatitis B ,while the immunohistochemistry was applied for analysing the distribution of Mig in liver tissue .Results The expres‐sion of Mig in serum ,peripheral blood mononuclear cells and liver tissue of the chronic hepatitis B patients with HBeAg negative were (247 .03 ± 63 .14)pg/mL ,(0 .95 ± 0 .21) ,(0 .79 ± 0 .23) ,and that in the chronic hepatitis B patients with HBeAg positive were (243 .05 ± 53 .00)pg/mL ,(0 .98 ± 0 .35) ,(0 .74 ± 0 .18) ,which were both significantly higher than those in healthy controls ,the difference was statistically significant(P<0 .05) .Conclusion Increased levels of Mig in the patients with chronic hepatitis B may be related to immune state of patients .

Objective To evaluate the effect of RNA interference in p53 gene on the expressions of genes involved in ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced premature senescence and photocarcinogenesis in human skin fibroblasts (HSFs).Methods A previously established HSF cell clone with repressed expression of p53,which was named as HSF-p53,was cultured and irradiated with a subcytotoxic dose (10 mJ/cm2) of UVB once a day for five consecutive days.The HSFs with normal expression of p53 served as the control.Subsequently,β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal)-staining was performed to estimate the degree of senescence,quantitative real-time PCR array was performed to determine the mRNA expressions of photocarcinogenesis-and senescence-associated genes,including p53,p21,p19,p16,pRb,fibronectin,osteonectin,smooth muscle 22 (SM22),bax,bcl-2,hypoxia-inducible factor-1 α (HIF-1α),vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF),and human double minute-2 (hdm2).Statistical analysis was carried out by Student's t test using the software SPSS 10.0.Results The percentage of SA-β-gal-positive cells in irradiated HSF-p53 was 19.70％ ± 0.85％,significantly higher than that in unirradiated HSF-p53 (12.77％ ± 0.81％,t =6.45,P ＜ 0.05),but lower than that in irradiated control HSFs (50.48％ ± 5.30％,t =7.86,P ＜ 0.05),and similar to that in unirradiated control HSFs (18.50％ ± 0.45％,t =2.57,P ＞ 0.05).Compared with the control HSFs,the HSF-p53 showed decreased expressions of p21,p19,fibronectin,osteonectin,SM22 and bax genes (all P ＜ 0.05),but increased expressions of bcl-2,HIF-1α,VEGF and hdm2 genes (all P ＜ 0.05),and a similar expression of p16 gene (P ＞ 0.05); the repeated UVB radiation significantly promoted the expressions of p16 and pRb genes (both P ＜ 0.05),but had no obvious effect on the expressions of the other genes in HSF-p53 compared with unirradiated HSF-p53 (all P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The inhibition of p53 expression may decelerate the UVB-induced premature senescence in HSFs,which may be involved in the p53-dependent tumor suppression.

Objective To study the expression of thymic stromal lymphopoietin(TSLP) and the activation of DCs in OVA-induced murine asthma model, and investigate the effects and underlying mecha-nisms of TSLP on lung inflammation. Methods Thirty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into control group, OVA group and TSLP neutralizing antibody treated group. The asthma model was evaluated by airway responsiveness and histological analysis of lung tissues ; The levels of TSLP mRNA in lungs were determined by quantitative real-time PCR; The expression of TSLP in lungs were determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot; The expression of CD40, CD80, CD86 in BALF was detected by FACS. Results Both the histological analysis of lung tissues and the airway responsiveness were all consistent with the characteris-tic of murine asthma model. The expression of TSLP and TSLP mRNA in the OVA group was significantly in-creased compared with blank group. The expression of CD40, CD80, CD86 in BALF from OVA group was increased significantly compared with the control group. Furthermore, treating mice with TSLP neutralizing antibody reduced the expression of CD40, CD80, CD86 on dendritic cells, and IL-4, IL-5, IL-13 in the OVA group. Conclusion Our study indicate that TSLP was highly expressed in the bronchial epithelia of murine asthma model, via upregulation of CD40, CD80, CD86, induce DCs to active CD4~+ T cells and pro-duce type 2 responses, so that aggravating the lung inflammation of asthma. Blocking TSLP is capable of in-hibiting the production of Th2 cytokines, thus presents a promising strategy for the treatment of asthma.

To assess the left ventricular regional relaxation abnormalities in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) by quantitative tissue velocity imaging (QTVI), Doppler echocardiography and QTVI were performed in HCM (n=10) and healthy subjects (n=11) at apical long-axis, two-chamber and four-chamber views. Regional early diastolic velocity (rVe) and regional atrial contraction (rVa) were measured at each segment of ventricular middle, basal and annular levels. Mean rVe and mean rVa at three levels as well as mean rVe/rVa ratio were calculated. Our results showed that transmitral inflow peak velocities during early diastole (E) and atrial contraction (A) were also measured and E/A ratio was calculated. The rVe of all left ventricular segments in HCM were lower than those in healthy subjects (P<0.05), but compared with healthy subjects majority of rVa in HCM were not different except inferior wall and anterior wall. E between HCM and healthy subjects was different (P=0.036), while mean rVe between them was significantly different (P<0.0001). Mean rVa and mean rVe/rVa of three levels were lower in HCM than in healthy subjects (P<0.05), but there were no differences in A and E/A between them (P=0.22, P=0.101). Left ventricular regional myocardial relaxation is reduced in HCM. Transmitral inflow E and A are influenced by preload, relaxation of myocardium and atrial contraction, etc., while rVe and rVa reflect myocardial relaxation function independently. QTVI is more sensitive and more accurate than conventional Doppler imaging for characterizingregional diastolic properties in HCM.
Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/*physiopathology ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic/*ultrasonography ; Diastole ; Echocardiography, Doppler, Color/methods ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular/*physiopathology ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular/ultrasonography ; Ventricular Function, Left

Objective To determine whether endogenous endothelin(ET) plays a role in the echocardiographic evaluation of the flow-dependent epicardial coronary vasodilation induced by reactive hyperemia(RH) after blockade of nitric oxide(NO) formation. Methods In six anesthetized open-chest dogs, changes in internal diameter of the left anterior descending coronary artery(LAD) induced by RH were investigated via echocardiography before intracoronary infusion of GN-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester(L-NAME), after blockade of NO formation by L-NAME, and after L-NAME plus intracoronary infusion of BQ-123, an ETA receptor blocker.Results Before intracoronary infusion of L-NAME, the diameter of LAD increased significantly from((2.24)?(0.21))mm to ((2.51)?(0.23))mm (P

Objective: To observe the efficacy of herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion for lumbar disc herniation (LDH) due to kidney deficiency and blood stasis and observe the influence of this method on lumbar functions and inflammatory factors in patients with this condition. Methods: A total of 120 LDH patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into three groups, including a herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group, a flour cake-partitioned moxibustion group, and a Western medication group, with 40 patients in each group. The patients in the Western medication group were treated with diflunisal tablets, 0.5 g per dose, 2 doses a day. Those in the herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group were treated with additional herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group at Back-Shu Points and Jiaji (EX-B2) Points once a day. Those in the flour cake-partitioned moxibustion group were treated with the same methods as in the herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group, except that the herbal cake was replaced by a flour cake. All the patients were treated for 10 d. After treatment, the scores of the visual analog scale (VAS) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) and the changes of the interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and substance P (SP) levels were observed, and the efficacy was evaluated. Results: After treatment, the VAS score and the levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and SP were lower than those before treatment, and the JOA score was higher than that before treatment in the three groups, indicating intra-group statistical significance (P<0.05). The VAS score and the levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and SP of the herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group were lower than those of the flour cake-partitioned moxibustion group and the Western medication group, while the JOA score of the herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group was higher than that of the other two groups, indicating inter-group statistical significance (P<0.05). The total effective rate of the herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group was 92.5％, higher than that of the flour cake-partitioned moxibustion group (80.0％) and the Western medication group (72.5％), indicating inter-group statistical significance (P<0.05). Conclusion: On the basis of Western oral medication, additional herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion can alleviate the pain and improve the lumbar functions in patients with LDH due to kidney deficiency and blood stasis. The efficacy of the integrated method is better than that of either flour cake-partitioned moxibustion or Western medication alone, which may be related to the reduction of serum inflammatory factors.

To evaluate the effects of left ventricular contractility on the changes of average image intensity (AII) of the myocardial integrated backscatter (IB) and cyclic variation in IB (CVIB), 7 adult mongrel dogs were studied. The magnitude of AII and CVIB were measured from myocardial IB carves before and after dobatamine or propranolol infusion. Dobutamine or propranolol did not affect the magnitude of AII (13.8 +/- 0.7 vs 14.7 +/- 0.5, P > 0.05 or 14.3 +/- 0.5 vs 14.2 +/- 0.4, P > 0.05). However, dobutamine produced a significant increase in the magnitude of CVIB (6.8 +/- 0.3 vs 9.5 +/- 0.6, P < 0.001) and propranolol induced significant decrease in the magnitude of CVIB (7.1 +/- 0.2 vs 5.2 +/- 0.3, P < 0.001). The changes of the magnitude of AII and CVIB in the myocardium have been demonstrated to reflect different myocardial physiological and pathological changes respectively. The alteration of contractility did not affect the magnitude of AII but induced significant change in CVIB. The increase of left ventricular contractility resulted in a significant rise of the magnitude of CVIB and the decrease of left ventricular contractility resulted in a significant fall of the magnitude of CVIB.
Adrenergic beta-Agonists ; pharmacology ; Adrenergic beta-Antagonists ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Coronary Circulation ; Dobutamine ; pharmacology ; Dogs ; Echocardiography ; methods ; Hemodynamics ; drug effects ; Myocardial Contraction ; drug effects ; physiology ; Propranolol ; pharmacology ; Systole ; Ventricular Function, Left ; physiology