Objective To investigate the effect of ischemic postconditioning (IPO) on renal injury induced by intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) and the expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in mice.Methods Thirty-six healthy male C57BL/6J mice,aged 9-12 weeks,were randomly divided into 3 groups ( n =12 each):sham operation group ( S group),I/R group,and IPO + I/R group ( group IPO).Intestinal I/R was produced by occlusion of superior mesenteric artery for 45 min followed by 2 h reperfusion.The mice underwent 3 cycles of 30 s reperfusion and 30 s ischemia at the end of 45 min ischemia before 2 h reperfusion.Blood samples were collected from carotid artery at 2 h of reperfusion and then the mice were sacrificed.The kidney was removed for microscopic examination.The pathological changes of the kidney were scored.The concentrations of serum blood urea nitrogen (BUN),creatinine (Cr) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL)were detected.The expression of Nrf2 and heme oxygenase- 1 ( HO- 1 ),superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity,and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA),TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-10 were determined in renal tissues.Results The concentrations of serum BUN,Cr and NGAL,MDA content and the expression of Nrf2 and HO- 1 were significantly higher,SOD activity was significantly lower,and the pathological score was significantly higher in group I/R that in group S ( P ＜ 0.05).The concentrations of serum BUN,Cr and NGAL and MDA content were significantly lower,the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 and SOD activity were significantly higher,and the pathological score was significantly lower in group IPO that in group I/R ( P ＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the content of TNF-αα,IL-6 and IL-10 among all groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion IPO can alleviate the renal injury induced by intestinal I/R through promoting the expression of Nrf2 and up-regulating the expression of HO-1 in mice.

Objective To evaluate the role of phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) in diabetes mellitus-induced reduction of hypoxic postconditioning (HPO)-induced protection of cardiomyocytes and the relationship with glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β)-mediated mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.Methods H9c2 cells incubated in high-glucose (30 mmol/L) medium for 24 h were divided into 6 groups (n =5 each) using a random number table:normoxia group (group N),hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) group,group HPO,PTEN gene silencing normoxia group (group P-N),PTEN gene silencing H/R group (group P-H/R),and PTEN gene silencing HPO group (group P-HPO).H9c2 cells were exposed to 95％ N2-5％ CO2 for 4 h followed by 2 h reoxygenation with 90％ O2-10％ CO2.HPO was induced by 3 cycles of 5 min reoxygenation followed by 5 min hypoxia before reoxygenation.At the end of reoxygenation,the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the supernatant was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay,the changes in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP were assessed by JC-1 fluorescence assay,the cell apoptosis was detected by AnnexinV-FITC/PI flow cytometry,and the expression of PTEN and phosphorylated GSK-3β (p-GSK-3β) was determined by Western blot.The JC-1 monomer/polymer ratio and apoptosis rate were calculated.Results Compared with group N,the amount of LDH released,JC-1 monomer/polymer ratio and apoptosis rate were significantly increased,and the expression of PTEN was up-regulated in H/R and HPO groups (P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the parameters mentioned above between group H/R and group HPO (P＞0.05).Compared with group HPO,the amount of LDH released,JC-1 monomer/polymer ratio and apoptosis rate were significantly decreased,PTEN expression was down-regulated,and the expression of p-GSK-3β was up-regulated in group P-HPO (P＜0.05).Compared with group N,the expression of PTEN was significantly down-regulated,and no significant changes were found in the other parameters mentioned above in group P-N (P＞0.05).Compared with group H/R,the expression of PTEN was significantly down-regulated,and no significant changes were found in the other parameters mentioned above in group P-H/R (P＞0.05).Conclusion PTEN is involved in diabetes mellitus-induced reduction of HPO-induced protection of cardiomyocytes,and the mechanism is associated with PTEN-induced activation of GSK-3β-modulated mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.

Objective To observe the expression of phosphatase and tensin hom ology deleted on chrom o-som e ten (PTEN) in m yocardial tissue in patients w ith coronary heart disease, and explore the relevance betw een the expression of PTEN and the occurrence and developm ent of coronary heart disease. Methods A total of 16 death cases w ith pathological diagnosis of coronary heart disease w ere collected as experi-m ental group, and 19 cases w ithout m yocardial lesions w ere selected as control group. The expression of PTENprotein and its m RNA w ere detected by im m unohistochem istry and real-tim e fluorescence quanti-tative PC R respectively. The correlation betw een the expression of PTEN and the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease w as analyzed. Results The expression of PTENprotein in myocardium in cases w ith coro-nary heart disease w as significantly low er com pared w ith the control group (P<0.05). There w as no sta-tistical difference of the expression of PTEN m RNA betw een experim ental and control group (P>0.05). Conclusion PTEN m ay be involved in the occurrence and developm ent of coronary heart disease.

The Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (S. suis 2) isolates 05ZYH33 and 98HAH33 have caused severe human infections in China. Using a strand-specific RNA-seq analysis, we compared the in vitro transcriptomes of these two Chinese isolates with that of a reference strain (P1/7). In the 89K genomic island that is specific to these Chinese isolates, a toxin–antitoxin system showed relatively high levels of transcription among the S. suis. The known virulence factors with high transcriptional activity in these two highly-pathogenic strains are mainly involved in adhesion, biofilm formation, hemolysis and the synthesis and transport of the outer membrane protein. Furthermore, our analysis of novel transcripts identified over 50 protein-coding genes with one of them encoding a toxin protein. We also predicted over 30 small RNAs (sRNAs) in each strain, and most of them are involved in riboswitches. We found that six sRNA candidates that are related to bacterial virulence, including cspA and rli38, are specific to Chinese isolates. These results provide insight into the factors responsible for the difference in virulence among the different S. suis 2 isolates.

Objective:To find out predictors of the testicular ischemia caused by incarcerated inguinal hernia and evaluate the ischemic injury of the testis more accurately, which can indicate testicle exploration in time or prevent unnecessary testicle exploration.Methods:Pediatric patients (median: 9 months) undergoing operation of unilateral incarcerated inguinal hernia and ipsilateral testicular exploration from 1 Jul. 2013 to 30 Jun. 2019 were retrospectively investigated. Age at surgery, incarcerate duration, degree of intestinal and testicular injury, times of manual reduction and preoperative ultrasound data were collected. Statistical analysis was performed by SAS 9.4 (Copyright ? 2016 SAS Institute Inc.Cary, NC, USA) .Results:460 patients (median: 9 months) , of which 57 (12.39%) (median: 1.4 months, interquartile range 0.8-10.7 months) had severe testicular injury, and their average incarceration time was (23.9±9.3) h. Univariate logistic regression revealed that increased times of manual reduction, ultrasound scores, incarcerate duration and degree of intestinal injury were positively correlated with the degree of testicular ischemia, while age at surgery was negatively correlated with the degree of testicular ischemia ( P<0.05) . A model for calculating the probability of severe testicular ischemia injury was established: P= through multivariate analysis with backward stepwise logistic regression and 10-fold cross-validation was used for preliminary verification of the model. Conclusion:This study provides a relative reliable model to predict the risk of irreversible testicular ischemia due to incarcerated inguinal hernia using readily available clinical characteristics in young pediatrics with testicular ischemia.

New strategies to improve vaccine efficacy against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are still required. DNA vaccines, exhibiting potential advantages over conventional vaccines for their simplicity and versatility, can induce specific humoral and cellular immune responses. We developed a recombinant pVAX1 DNA vector carrying p24 gene of HIV-1. The results showed that pVAX1 mediated gene possessed the ability of effective expression in both transfected 293T cells and BALB/c mice. And pVAX1-p24 DNA prime and boost immunization can induce significant P24-specific humoral immune responses and cellular immune responses in BALB/c mice. Furthermore, immunization with pVAX1-p24 DNA prime and protein boost induced 7.3 to 8.0-fold greater p24-specific humoral responses than pVAX1-p24 DNA prime and boost, while the cellular immune responses induced by combined immunization was lower. The results suggested that pVAX1-p24 DNA and P24 protein vaccine is a promising HIV-1 vaccine, and the selections of the immunization strategies are important for the immunization results.
AIDS Vaccines ; genetics ; immunology ; Animals ; DNA ; genetics ; immunology ; HEK293 Cells ; HIV Core Protein p24 ; genetics ; immunology ; Humans ; Immunization ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Vaccines, DNA ; genetics ; immunology

Objective:To evaluate the role of autophagy in ischemia postconditioning (IPO)-induced attenuation of intestinal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in mice.Methods:Thirty-two SPF healthy adult male C57BL/6J mice, aged 9-12 weeks, weighing 25-29 g, were divided into 4 groups ( n=8 each) using a random number table method: sham operation group (group S), intestinal I/R group (group IIR), group IPO and IPO plus 3-methyladenine (3-MA) group (group IPO+ 3-MA). The model of intestinal I/R was established by occlusion of superior mesenteric artery for 45 min followed by 2-h reperfusion in anesthetized animals.The mice underwent 3 cycles of 30-s reperfusion followed by 30-s ischemia before restoration of reperfusion in group IPO.Blood samples from the femoral artery were collected at 2 h of reperfusion for determination of concentrations of serum diamine oxidase (DAO), D-lactate (D-LA) and intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP). The animals were then sacrificed and intestinal tissues were removed for microscopic examination of the pathologic changes which were scored according to Chiu and for determination of the expression of autophagy-related proteins Beclin-1 and p62 (by Western blot). The water content of intestinal tissues was calculated. Results:Compared with group S, the Chiu′s score, concentrations of serum DAO, D-LA and I-FABP, water content of intestinal tissues, and LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ ratio were significantly increased, Beclin-1 expression was up-regulated, and p62 expression was down-regulated in IIR, IPO and IPO+ 3-MA groups ( P<0.05). Compared with group IIR, the Chiu′s score, concentrations of serum DAO, D-LA and I-FABP, water content of intestinal tissues, and LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰ ratio were significantly decreased, Beclin-1 expression was up-regulated, and p62 expression was down-regulated in group IPO ( P<0.05). Compared with group IPO, the Chiu′s score, concentrations of serum DAO, D-LA and I-FABP, and water content of intestinal tissues were significantly increased, LC3Ⅱ/LC3Ⅰratio was decreased, Beclin-1 expression was down-regulated, and p62 expression was up-regulated in group IPO+ 3-MA ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Autophagy is involved in ischemia postconditioning-induced attenuation of intestinal I/R injury in mice.

Objective To evaluate the role of classⅠhistone deacetylase (HDAC) in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I∕R) injury in diabetic rats and the relationship with adenosine monophosphate-acti- vated protein kinase (AMPK)∕mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Methods SPF healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 210-220 g, were used in this study. Type I diabetes mellitus was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin dissolved in citrate buffer 60 mg∕kg, and 8 weeks later the rats with type I diabetes mellitus were used for experiment. Forty-eight diabetic rats were divided into 4 groups (n＝12 each) by using a random number table method: sham operation group (group S), myocardial I∕R group (group I∕R), myocardial I∕R plus class I HDAC inhibitor MS-275 group (group I∕R+MS) and myocardial I∕R plus MS-275 plus AMPK inhibitor Compound C group ( group I∕R+MS+CC). Myocardial I∕R was induced by ligation of the left anterior descending branch of the coronary ar-tery for 45 min followed by 180 min of reperfusion in anesthetized rats. In group I∕R+MS, MS-275 10 mg∕kg was intraperitoneally injected once a day for 7 consecutive days, and myocardial I∕R was produced after the end of administration. AMPK inhibitor Compound C 0. 5 mg∕kg was intravenously injected at 30 min before ischemia in group I∕R+MS+CC. Six rats were sacrificed at the end of reperfusion for determina-tion of myocardial infarct size. Another 6 rats were selected at the end of reperfusion and sacrificed for deter-mination of the level of creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in serum (by en-zyme-linked immunosorbent assay), expression of AMPK, phosphorylated AMPK ( p-AMPK), mTOR, phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR), ubiquitin-binding protein P62 (P62), microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 Ⅰ(LC3 Ⅰ) and LC3Ⅱ in myocardial tissues (by Western blot). The ratios of p-AMPK∕AMPK, p-mTOR∕mTOR and LC3Ⅱ∕Ⅰwere calculated. Results Compared with group S, the myocardial infarct size and levels of serum CK-MB and LDH were significantly increased in I∕R, I∕R+MS and I∕R+M+CC groups, the ratios of p-AMPK∕AMPK and LC3Ⅱ∕Ⅰwere significantly increased, p-mTOR∕mTOR ratio was decreased, and P62 expression was down-regulated in group I∕R+MS (P＜0. 05), and no significant change was found in p-AMPK∕AMPK ratio, p-mTOR∕mTOR ratio, LC3Ⅱ∕Ⅰ ratio or P62 expression in I∕R and I∕R+M+CC groups (P＞0. 05). Compared with group I∕R, the myocardial infarct size and levels of serum CK-MB and LDH were significantly decreased, the ratios of p-AMPK∕AMPK and LC3Ⅱ∕Ⅰwere in-creased, p-mTOR∕mTOR ratio was decreased, and P62 expression was down-regulated in group I∕R+MS (P＜0. 05), and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in group I∕R+M+CC (P＞0. 05). Compared with group I∕R+MS, the myocardial infarct size and levels of serum CK-MB and LDH were significantly increased, the ratios of p-AMPK∕AMPK and LC3Ⅱ∕Ⅰ were decreased, p-mTOR∕mTOR ratio was increased, and P62 expression was up-regulated in group I∕R+M+CC ( P＜0. 05). Con-clusion Class Ⅰ HDAC is involved in myocardial I∕R injury through enhancing AMPK∕mTOR signaling pathway-regulated level of autophagy in diabetic rats.

Objective To explore the CRP harmonization by calibration using commutable trueness verification materials. Methods High and low level of CRP concentrations trueness verification materials(H and L) were prepared by Beijing center for clinical laboratories. Thesetrueness verification materials were diluted to 5 calibration points(5L, 4L+1H, 3L+2H, 1L+4H, 5H) by weighing method, respectively. These 5 points were used to calibrate four different brands of CRP detection system (Diasys, Leadman, Siemens and Roche) instead of the original procedure. Sera from 21 patients and the international standard ERM DA-474/IFCC were used to compare harmonization and trueness after calibration. Each sample above was measured twice. Results After calibration, the median of CV was reduced from 19.33％ to 2.92％ among 21 patient samples, less than the optimal CV based on biological variability (CV=10.6％). Compared with Desai, the slopes were closer to 1 from 0.90-1.09 to 0.93-0.96 after calibration. Meanwhile, if ERM-DA474/IFCC was used as the trueness verification materials, the absolute bias wasreduced from 3.08-11.07 mg/L to 0.52-2.97 mg/L which was close to theuncertainty of itself (2.5 mg/L). Conclusions Afterthe calibration which contained five linear concentration points of CRP trueness verification materials by weighing method, both harmonization and trueness of CRP were improved.

Objective To prepare the trueness verification materials of C-reactive protein (CRP) and evaluate its homogeneity, stability and commutability. Methods The high and low CRP concentrations trueness verification materials were from patient leftover sera which were pooled, mixed thoroughly, filtered and aliquoted. The homogeneity, stability and commutability of these materials were evaluated according to CNAS(China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment, CNAS)-GL29:2010 "Reference materials-General and statistical principles for certification (ISO Guide35:2006)"and the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) EP30A. The trueness verification materials were used to evaluate the commutability in 10 clinical CRP detection systems, using forty-five patients' leftover sera with different CRP concentration evaluated by Deming regression in EP30A of CLSI. Meanwhile, the commutability of dilution series of ERM DA-474/IFCC were evaluated using the same method. Results A total of two CRP concentration level trueness verification materials were prepared, with high and low concentration levels of 754 and 743 vials, 1 ml each, respectively. The preparation showed good homogeneity (F