Objective To investigate the expression of vascular growth factors including vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (p-DGF) in placentae of pregnancy-induced hypertension(PIH) patients and their significance. Methods Placental tissues of 15 normal gravidas and 19 PIH women were collected. The expression of vascular growth factors were detected by immunohistochemistry (PAP) combined with the analysis of computer microphotography. Results The average grey value difference (GVD) of VEGF was 61.6?3.7 in moderate and severe PIH group, which was significantly lower than that of the normal control group (71.1?5.8) and mild PIH (70.9?8.9, P

Objective To study changes of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression and neural apoptosis in rat hippocampus and cortex of cesarean delivered offspring.Methods Thirty-eight pregnant SD rats were randomly allocated into 2 groups: 19 rats in vaginal delivery (VD) and 19 rats in cesarean section (CS).Forty-eight fetuses born by VD were kept intact, 40 fetuses were delivered by CS on day 21 of gestation.The fetal brain tissues were taken out on postnatal day 30 and 115, the expression profiles of GFAP in hippocampus and cortex were measured by immunohistochemical staining and western blot Apoptotic cells were detected using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining.Results (1) The expression profiles of GFAP: on postnatal day 115, the mean number of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes of hippocampus 29.7 ± 10.9 in VD group was significantly lower than 36.2 ± 2.8 in CS group ( P ＜ 0.05 ).The average GFAP-positive cells in the cortex of frontal lobe of 23.2 ±4.6 in VD group was significantly lower than 36.8 ± 5.9 in CS group (P ＜0.01 ).Likewise, on postnatal day 30, the mean number of GFAP-immunoreactive astrocytes of frontal cortex of 27.8 ± 6.0 in VD group was remarkably lower than 39.4 ± 4.5 in CS group ( P ＜ 0.01 ).The average GFAP-positive cells in the hippocampus of 31.5 ±3.5 in VD group were not significantly lower than 37.2 ±7.0 in CS group ( P ＞0.05 ).The expression of GFAP was detected in hippocampus and frontal cortex by western blot, however,there was no significant different expression of GFAP between VD group and CS group.(2) Neuronal apoptosis: TUNEL staining results indicated that, on postnatal day 115, fewer apoptotic cells scattered in offspring hippocampas subregion were only shown in CS group, never in VD group.No TUNEL positive staining cells were labeled in hippocampal subregion in VD group, therefore significantly lower than that of CS group ( P ＜ 0.05 ).Conclusions There were different influences of cesarean section on GFAP expression in hippocampus or cortex in different developmental stage of offspring Cesarean section might increase GFAP expression in the hippocampus and frontal cortex, even trigger neuronal apoptosis of hippocampus region.

To investigate the effects of triptolide on inflammation and apoptosis induced by focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion in rats.The rat model of focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was established according to Longa's method. A total of 80 SD rats were randomly divided into 5 groups:normal control, sham group, DMSO group, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) group, and MCAO with tripolide treatment group. TTC staining was used to examine the site and volume of cerebral infarction, and Longa score was employed for neurological disorders measurement. Number of astrocytes was measured by fluorescence staining, and neuronal apoptosis was determined by TUNEL staining. The expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS), cyclooxygenase 2(COX-2) and NF-κB proteins were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the expression of iNOS, COX-2 mRNA was detected by real-time PCR.Compared with DMSO group and MCAO group, brain edema was improved (80.03±0.46)% (<0.05), infarct volume was reduced (8.3±1.4)% (<0.01), Longa score was decreased (1.38±0.20,<0.05) in triptolide treatment group. Meanwhile triptolide also dramatically reduced the number of GFAP-positive astrocytes (<0.05), alleviated protein expression of COX-2 (91.67±1.31), iNOS (95.24±5.07) and NF-κB (75.03±2.06) triggered by MCAO (all<0.05), and induced a down-regulation of cell apoptosis as showed by TUNEL assay (64.15±3.52,<0.05).Triptolide can reduce the cerebral infarction volume, attenuate brain edema and ameliorate the neurological deficits induced by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury rats, indicating that it might be used as a potential anti-inflammatory agent.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Astrocytes ; Brain Edema ; drug therapy ; Brain Injuries ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Brain Ischemia ; chemically induced ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; drug effects ; Diterpenes ; pharmacology ; Down-Regulation ; drug effects ; Epoxy Compounds ; pharmacology ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Inflammation ; drug therapy ; Male ; NF-kappa B ; drug effects ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; drug effects ; Phenanthrenes ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; chemically induced ; drug therapy