Objective To explore the prenatal sonographic diagnosis of congenital vascular rings.Methods Eight fetuses with congenital vascular rings diagnosed in Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical College from January 9,2010 to November 25,2012 were retrospectively analyzed.All cases underwent threevessel trachea view to observe the position of aortic arch,its branches and the ductus arteriosus.The sonographic features were summarized.Results The eight cases were diagnosed at 22 to 28 gestional weeks,with an average of (25±2) weeks.They were 21 to 35 years old,with an average of (28±5) years.Seven cases were diagnosed by cardiac ultrasonography,and one induction case was diagnosed by autopsy.Among the eight cases,there were seven of right aortic arch with vagus left subclavian artery and left ductus arteriosus,and one case was complicated with double aortic arch.The former seven cases showed U-shape vascular ring surrounding the trachea composed of right aortic arch,vagus left subclavian artery and left ductus arteriosus.The other side of this U-shape was the heart structure,showing a complete vascular ring.In the latter one case,the O-shape vascular ring was composed of left and right sides of the aortic arch.Conclusion The U-shape,or O-shape vascular ring in three-vessel trachea view is the typical sonographic features of congenital vascular ring.Cardiac ultrasound examination should be performed on those suspected cases.

Background and purpose: Renal cell carcinoma is the most common form of kidney cancer, characterized by lack of early symptoms and high malignancy. This study aimed to establish orthotopic nude mice models of human renal cell carcinoma with high success rate and good repeatability. Methods: The four types of methods which were adopted to establish the orthotopic models of renal cell carcinoma were orthotopic injection of 786-0 and ACHN cell suspensions, orthotopic injection of primary cell suspensions obtained from the subcutaneous tumor tissues, renal subcutis orthotopic implantation into renal capsule and surgical subcutis orthotopic implantation into renal fascia. To gain insights into the tumorigenicity and the growth of transplantation tumors, the imageological examination (PET/CT), histological examination (H-E staining, immunohistochemistry staining) and biochemical analysis of blood were carried out. Results: In terms of the subcutaneous transplantation of human renal cell carcinoma models in nude mice, tumorigenic rate of ACHN cells (90%) was higher than that of 786-0 cells (30%). The tumorigenic incidences of 786-0 cell suspensions orthotopic injection, ACHN cell suspensions orthotopic injection, ACHN subcutis cellular suspensions orthotopic injection, ACHN subcutis orthotopic implantation into renal capsule and renal fascia were 33%, 80%, 90%, 100% and 20%, respectively. ACHN subcutis orthotopic implantation into renal capsule was the most effective approach. Imageological and histological results accorded with poorly differentiated renal cell carcinoma. Conclusion: Four orthotopic nude mice models of human renal cell carcinoma were successfully established. Among these methods, ACHN subcutis orthotopic implantation into renal capsule is the most effective approach, which provides an ideal model for the research on biological behavior of human renal cell carcinoma and its treatment.

The solute carrier family 12(SLC12)of cation-chloride cotransporters(CCCs)comprises potassium chlo-ride cotransporters(KCCs,e.g.KCC1,KCC2,KCC3,and KCC4)-mediated Cl-extrusion,and sodium po-tassium chloride cotransporters(N[K]CCs,NKCC1,NKCC2,and NCC)-mediated Cl-loading.The CCCs play vital roles in cell volume regulation and ion homeostasis.Gain-of-function or loss-of-function of these ion transporters can cause diseases in many tissues.In recent years,there have been considerable ad-vances in our understanding of CCCs'control mechanisms in cell volume regulations,with many tech-niques developed in studying the functions and activities of CCCs.Classic approaches to directly measure CCC activity involve assays that measure the transport of potassium substitutes through the CCCs.These techniques include the ammonium pulse technique,radioactive or nonradioactive rubidium ion uptake-assay,and thallium ion-uptake assay.CCCs'activity can also be indirectly observed by measuring y-aminobutyric acid(GABA)activity with patch-clamp electrophysiology and intracellular chloride con-centration with sensitive microelectrodes,radiotracer 36Cl-,and fluorescent dyes.Other techniques include directly looking at kinase regulatory sites phosphorylation,flame photometry,22Na+uptake assay,structural biology,molecular modeling,and high-throughput drug screening.This review sum-marizes the role of CCCs in genetic disorders and cell volume regulation,current methods applied in studying CCCs biology,and compounds developed that directly or indirectly target the CCCs for disease treatments.

ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of Tibetan medicine Ershiwuwei Guijiuwan against osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats through the classical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. MethodForty-eight 3-month-old SD female rats were randomized into model group （equivalent volume of normal saline）， sham operation group （equivalent volume of normal saline）， estradiol group （0.1 mg·kg^-1 estradiol valerate）， and high-， medium-， low-dose Ershiwuwei Guijiuwan groups （800， 400， 200 mg·kg^-1， respectively）. For the modeling， some adipose tissue near the ovaries was removed in the sham operation group， and ovaries were excised in other groups. Administration （ig， once a day） started two weeks after the operation and lasted 12 weeks. After sampling， based on hematoxylin and eosin （HE） staining， the morphological changes of the right femur and lumbar spine of the rats were observed. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was performed to detect the serum levels of rat tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b （TRAP5b）， collagen type Ⅰ C-terminal peptide （CTX-Ⅰ）， bone alkaline phosphatase （BALP）， amino-terminal propeptide of type Ⅰ procollagen （PINP）， and bone Gla-protein （BGP）. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was performed to examine the mRNA expression of β-catenin and Runt-related transcription factor 2 （Runx2） in femur， and Western blot to detect the protein expression of β-catenin， Runx2， and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-5 （Lrp-5）. ResultCompared with the sham operation group， the model group showed disordered and sparse bone trabecula with fewer connections， decrease in serum levels of BALP， BGP， and PINP （P<0.01）， increase in levels of CTX-Ⅰ and TRAP5b （P<0.01）， reduction in mRNA expression of β-catenin and Runx2 in femoral tissue （P<0.01） and protein expression of Lrp-5， β-catenin， and Runx2 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， estradiol and each dose of Ershiwuwei Guijiuwan increased the volume of bone trabecula， made thebone trabecula closely arranged， reduced the loss of the trabecular meshwork， raised the serum levels of BALP and BGP （P<0.01）， and lowered TRAP5b level （P<0.01）. PINP level was significantly increased in the high-dose Ershiwuwei Guijiuwan group and estradiol group （P<0.01） and CTX-Ⅰ level was significantly decreased in the high-dose Erwenwuwei Guijiuwan group and the estradiol group （P<0.01） compared with those in the model group. The mRNA expression of β-catenin in femoral tissue and protein expression of Lrp-5 and β-catenin in estradiol group and three Ershiwuwei Guijiuwan groups were significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the levels of Runx2 mRNA and protein were significantly increased in the high-dose Ershiwuwei Guijiuwan group and the estradiol group （P<0.01） compared with those in the model group. ConclusionTibetan medicine Ershiwuwei Guijiuwan is effective for the osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats， which may be related to the classic Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. It affects bone metabolism by up-regulating the expression of osteogenesis-related genes in the signaling pathway.