0.05). Conclusions MSI and LOH may play a certain role in the carcinogenesis and progression of arsenic-induced skin lesions.

Objectives To observe the frequencies of mutations at glycophorin A(GPA)of erythro-cytes in patients with high arsenic coal poisoning(HACP)in comparison with normal controls.Methods The peripheral erythrocytes were isolated and immunolabelled,and were detected by flow cytometry in40patients and18normal adults.Results The mutation frequencies(MF)were(21.23?13.97)?10 -6 for type NN,(33.13?25.72)?10 -6 for type NO,(110.90?63.58)?10 -6 for type MM,and(20.35?21.26)?10 -6 for type MO of erythrocytes in patients with HACP,which were significantly higher than those in normal controls.The mutation frequencies were(31.50?16.13)?10 -6 for type NN,(54.50?38.13)?10 -6 for type NO,(159.33?66.22)?10 -6 for type MM,and(45.16?12.69)?10 -6 for type MO of erythrocytes in tumor group of HACP patients,which were significantly higher than those of non-tumor group of the patients.Conclusions Arsenic poisoning may induce the mutation at the glycophorin-A locus of erythrocytes,sug-gesting that arsenic may be one of potential mutagens.GPA-MF may serve as a parameter for the detection of patients with HACP.

Objective To analyze the changes in number and biological ability of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) from peripheral blood of SLE patients. Methods Mononuclear cells (MNCs) were isolated by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation from peripheral blood of 20 female SLE patients and 20 healthy female controls. EPCs were identified by double staining using antibodies to CD34 and CD133, or antibodies to CD133 and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2). Phycoerythrin (PE) conjugated antiCD34, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) conjugated anti-CD133 and APC conjugated anti-VEGFR2 antibodies were used in a three color flow cytometric analysis to determine the percentage of EPCs in peripheral MNCs.The proliferation and migration ability of EPCs were measured by MTT assay and modified millicell chamber assay, respectively. The adhesion activity of EPCs was evaluated by counting the number of adherent cells.Results The percentage and proliferation rate of EPCs in peripheral MNCs from female SLE patients were significantly lower than those from the healthy controls(4.49% ± 1.66% vs 20.81% ± 4.14%, 23.11% ± 3.16%vs 35.65% ± 1.74%, both P ＜ 0.01 ). The migration and adhesion ability of EPCs from SLE patients was impaired compared with those from the healthy controls (12.00 ± 2.12 vs 23.60 ± 3.0 cells/field, 22.43 ± 4.43vs 36.43 ± 3.69 cells/filed, both P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusion There is a decrease in the number and an impairment in biological ability of EPCs in SLE patients.