The quantitative analysis of biomechanical profiles at the single-cell level can provide additional information. It is usually not available in traditional cell biology approaches, but may be crucial to assess and understand tumor prognosis and response to chemotherapy. In this study, the on-line changes of cell elastic properties after the addition of cancer target drug LHRH-PE40 were monitored by atomic force microscopy ( AFM) on living HeLa cell surface under physiological condition. The results from AFM based force spectroscopy showed that LHRH-PE40 induced a distinct increase of the cell surface elasticity of HeLa cells. The fluorescence images implied that the target drug LHRH-PE40 would affect the re-organization of cell actions, which led to the increase of the elasticity of HeLa cells.

OBJECTIVE To prepare nanoparticle-based targeting preparation loaded with triptolide （TP）， and evaluate its quality， targeting ability and cytotoxic effects. METHODS Polymer nanoparticles carrying TP-targeted folic acid （FA） receptor （TP@PLGA-PEG-FA） were fabricated using poly （lactic-co-glycolic acid）/polyethylene glycol/FA （PLGA-PEG-FA） as the carrier by emulsion and volatilization technique. The morphology and distribution were observed， and their particle size， Zeta potential， polydispersity index （PDI）， drug loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency were measured. Their stability， blood compatibility， in vitro drug release， uptake by RAW264.7 cells （localization with fluorescent dye Cy3.5）， and in vitro cytotoxicity were evaluated. RESULTS TP@PLGA-PEG-FA exhibited spherical shape and uniform distribution， with particle size of （122.60±0.02） nm， Zeta potential of （－17.6±0.6）mV， and PDI of 0.26±0.02； drug loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency of TP were measured to be （7.78±0.05）% and （68.62±0.03）%， respectively. The hemolysis rates of 100， 200， 300， 400 µg/mL TP@PLGA- PEG-FA were 0.77%， 0.92%， 1.34% and 1.63%， respectively. There were no significant changes in particle size， PDI and Zeta potential when TP@PLGA-PEG-FA were placed in 4 ℃ water for 14 days and in DMEM culture medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum at 37 ℃ for 12 h. The cumulative release rate of TP@PLGA-PEG-FA was （84.83±0.29）% in phosphate buffer at pH5.5 for 72 h， which was significantly higher than the cumulative release rates in phosphate buffer solutions at pH7.4 and 6.5 for 72 h （[ 42.37±0.35）% and （63.83±0.29）% ， respectively] （P＜0.05）. Activated RAW264.7 cells took up significantly more Cy3.5@PLGA-PEG-FA than they took up Cy3.5@PLGA-PEG-FA+free FA and Cy3.5@PLGA-PEG. When the mass concentration of TP was≥15.63 ng/mL， the survival rates of activated cells in the TP@PLGA-PEG-FA groups were significantly lower than those of the same mass concentration of free TP groups （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The prepared TP@PLGA-PEG-FA has high stability， good blood compatibility， active targeting and cytotoxicity to inflammatory cells.

Teaching quality is directly related to the performance of universities in fostering talents. Being innovative, high-level, and challenging (IHC) is the basic goal of course reform at universities in the new era. It is essential to reform the contents and teaching mode to improve the IHC properties of the existing courses. We first designed the three-dimensional goals of Molecular Biology Experiment teaching and the contents to support these goals. Then, we pinpointed the common points shared by blended teaching and experiment course, and designed the ways of blended teaching for the course. The reformed course contents and teaching mode have enhanced its IHC properties, and achieved good teaching performance. This paper provides a reference for the reform of experiment courses in universities.
Humans ; Molecular Biology ; Students ; Universities

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of retinol-binding protein (RBP) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and its related factors.

METHODSThe clinical data of 123 patients with AML from October 2012 to February 2016 and 100 healthy controls were collected and the correlation of RBP expression level with sex, French-American-British (FAB) subtypes, molecular mutations, peripheral white blood cells and long-term outcomes was analyzed.

RESULTSCompared with AML patients, the RBP expression level was significantly higher in healthy controls (61.02±34.97 vs 34.44±14.08 mg/L)(u=8.658, P<0.01). Patients with M3 showed higher RBP level (40.74±15.79 mg/L) compared with that of M4 (28.40±13.64 mg/L)(P<0.01) and M5 (31.97±15.31 mg/L)(P<0.05). Negative correlation was observed for RBP and white blood cells in patients with AML (r=-0.352, P<0.001), which was more remarkable in patients with M4 (r=-0.563, P<0.01) and M5 (r=-0.423, P<0.01). AML patients achieved complete remission (CR) (48.64±9.24 mg/L) showed higher RBP level than that before treatment (u=4.876, P<0.01), but lower than healthy controls (u=2.106,P<0.05). After CR, patients with M3 showed higher RBP level than that of non-M3 patients (54.91±5.25 mg/L vs 41.36±7.33 mg/L)(t=8.777,P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONDetecting RBP expression may provide some useful information for urderstanding the pathophysiology and improving the treatment of patients with AML.

OBJECTIVE: To explore 3.0T MRI accurate measurement of knee cartilage thickness in healthy youth provides reliable anatomical parameters for quantitative diagnosis of osteoarthritis and accurate osteotomy of joint replacement. METHODS: From January 2013 to December 2013, 30 healthy young volunteers including 14 males and 16 females with an average age of (25.8±2.4) years old ranging from 22 to 33 years were recruited in Changchun, Jilin Province, and a 3.0T MRI scan was performed on the bilateral knee joints of each volunteer. The cartilage thickness was measured on the lateral femoral condyle (LFC), medial femoral condyle (MFC), lateral tibial plateau (LTP) and medial tibial plateau (MTP). RESULTS: In four regions of the knee joint:LFC, MFC, LTP and MTP, whether young men or women, there was no significant difference in cartilage thickness between the left and right knee joints (P>0.05). There were significant differences in knee cartilage thickness between healthy young men and women (P<0.05). In the same sex group, LFC cartilage thickness was thinner in the middle, thicker in front and rear;MFC cartilage thickness was the thinnest in front and gradually thickening from the front to the rear; LTP cartilage thickness was thickest in the middle, second in the rear and thinnest in the front;MTP cartilage thickness was the thinnest in the front, was relatively uniform in the middle and rear and thicker than that in the front. CONCLUSION In Northeast China, among healthy adults aged 22 to 33, gender difference may be an important factor in the difference of cartilage thickness in various regions of the knee joint. Regardless of whether male or female healthy young people, the cartilage thickness of the entire knee joint is unevenly distributed, but there is no significant difference in cartilage thickness in the same area between the left and right knee joints.
Adult ; Adolescent ; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Young Adult ; Cartilage, Articular/diagnostic imaging* ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Osteoarthritis ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Femur

Microbial Engineering is a practical and applied course, it is therefore an indispensable part of teaching to let the students practice in the production line of an enterprise. However, lack of internship resources has always been a bottleneck hampering the high-level internship training during teaching the Microbial Engineering course. A virtual production line developed based on information technology enables students to learn the theoretical knowledge of the complex production system. Moreover, it enables students to perform complex virtual operations, thereby improving students' practicing and innovation abilities. In order to let the virtual simulation experiments project play a great role in undergraduate teaching, this article summarizes the progress, characteristics, and value of the virtual simulation experiments for Microbial Engineering. In addition, the main challenges that limit its shared application are also discussed, with potential solutions prospected.
Computer Simulation ; Curriculum ; Humans ; Learning ; Students

Adult ; Colitis ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Cysts ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Rectum ; pathology ; surgery

Osteoarthritis(OA) is one of the most common joint diseases. As Chinese society enters the age of aging, the incidence of OA has been soar year by year, and research on its pathogenesis has been continuously valued by researchers. Studies have found that inflammatory cytokines, mainly interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), were responsible for the construction of OA inflammatory networks. It was also found that the overexpression of proteases, mainly matrix metalloproteinases(MMPs) and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS), was the direct cause of OA cartilage deficiency. What's more, signaling pathways such as stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and Wnt, chondrocytic senescence and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), chondrocyte apoptosis and autophagy, and estrogen all play significant roles in OA pathogenesis. This paper extensively reviews the research literature relevant to the pathogenesis of OA in recent years, and systematically expounds the pathogenesis of OA from two aspects:molecular level and cell level. At the end of the paper, we discussed and predicted some potential directions in the future clinical diagnosis and treatment of OA.
Cartilage ; Cartilage, Articular ; Chondrocytes ; Humans ; Interleukin-1beta ; Osteoarthritis/genetics* ; Signal Transduction ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a major cause of hip arthritis and ultimately total hip arthroplasty. Due to the dysplastic acetabulum, how to place the acetabular cup becomes a challenge in acetabular reconstruction for such patients. Especially in the acetabula classified as Crowe typeⅡand type Ⅲ, the dislocation of the femoral head causes bone defects above the true acetabulum, which will affect the stability of the acetabular cup when the acetabular reconstruction is performed at the true acetabulum. Many acetabular reconstruction methods such as bone grafting, the use of small acetabular cups, socket medialization technique, and high hip center technique are used to increase the host bone coverage of the cup. However, each method has its own shortcomings that can not be ignored so that there is no unified conclusion on the acetabular reconstruction methods for Crowe typeⅡand type Ⅲ hip dysplasia. This article summarized and evaluated various reconstruction methods in combination with the acetabular morphology of DDH, and put forward the research direction in the future.
Acetabulum/surgery* ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip ; Hip Dislocation/surgery* ; Hip Dislocation, Congenital/surgery* ; Hip Prosthesis ; Humans ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE： To screen and characterize effective components of immunopotentiating activity in Senecionis cannabifolii Herba. METHODS： The polysaccharide components were obtained by water extraction and alcohol precipitation method to yield 50％ alcohol precipitation sample （SCHE-1） and 80％ alcohol precipitation sample （SCHE-2）. The cells from mice mononuclear macrophage line RAW264.7 were divided into blank group （medium without serum）， negative control group （medium with serum）， lipopolysaccharide group （LPS， positive control drug， 1 μg/mL）， SCHE-1 and SCHE-2 low-dose and high-dose groups （0.5， 1 mg/mL）. The cell viability of RAW264.7 cells was detected by MTT assay. The levels of IL-1β， IL-6 and TNF-α in RAW264.7 were detected by ELISA. These were used to investigate the effects of SCHE-1 and SCHE-2 on the immunological enhancing activity of RAW264.7 cells. The molecular weight and distribution of SCHE-1 were determined by size exclusion chromatography； the monosaccharide composition of SCHE-1 was determined by HPLC pre-column derivatization. Methylation analysis of SCHE-1 was conducted by NaOH method. RESULTS： Compared with negative control group， the activity of RAW264.7 cells was enhanced significantly in SCHE-1 groups and LPS group， which also significantly increased the levels of IL-1β， IL-6 and TNF-α in cell culture fluids （P＜0.01）. SCHE-1 was an effective component with immunopotentiating activity. The neutral sugar content of SCHE-1 was 40.05％， the uronic acid was 35.62％， and the protein was 8.89％. SCHE-1 was a mixture， molecular weight of which was 62-6 119 Da； monosaccharide was mainly composed of galacturonic acid， arabinose （Ara） and galactose （Gal）. The results of methylation analysis showed that the backbone was composed of 1→3， 1→4 and 1→6 linked Gal， and branches were on the O-6 position of the 1→3 linked Gal， and the non-reducing terminals were Ara. CONCLUSIONS： SCHE-1 may be the effective component of immuno potentiating activity， and main component of SCHE-1 is polysaccharide. SCHE-1 may regulate the immune function by activating macrophages to release IL-1β， IL-6 and TNF-α.