The effect of high-dose glucocorticoid (GC) on plasma phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity, extravascular lung water (EVLW) and lung pathology during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was studied on the CPB model in rabbits. The results showed that both plasma PLA2 activities and EVLW increased significantly during CPB, and there was a significant correlation between EVLW and plasma PLA2 activities at 90 min of CPB (r = 0. 8439, P

The present study was undertaken by radioligand binding assay to compare the binding properties of U72099E to cytosol and synaptic plasma membrane (SPM)preparations of rat brain. The results showed that the binding of [3H]Glucocorticoids ([3H]GC) was not displaced by U72099E in cytosol but was displaced in SPM with a Ki of 32.2?1.7?mol/L-1,indicating the existence of binding sites for U72099E in plasma membrane (most probably being glucocorticoid membrane receptors, GCMR). The Ki of U72099E is close to the concentrations needed to mimic the actions of it to protect against brain injury, suggesting that GCMR may mediate the beneficial effect of U72099E.

Objective To survey the prevalence of undemutrition in elderly leprosy patients and explore the feasibility of nutritional assessment. Methods The nutrition status of 60 elderly patients with advanced leprosy was analyzed using Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and objective methods. Results Undemutrition was determined in 22 patients (36. 6% ), including 5 patients ( 8. 3% ) were at a status of severe undernutrition. Kap-pa value of SGA and the objective items were 0. 619, 0. 571, 0. 476, 0. 454, and 0. 419 for triceps skin-fold thickness (TSF), pre-albumin (PALB), mid arm muscle circumference (MAMC), hemoglobin (Hb), and ser-um albumin, respectively. Gender, admission duration, type of leprosy, or disability grade was not correlated to all nutritional parameters except body height and cholesteroL Age and extent of ulceration were significantly correlated with some parameters such as BMI, TSF, lib, ALB, and PALB ( P < O. 01 ). Sensitivity and specificity of SGA on objective parameters screened were different. TSF and ulcer had the hrgest impacts on SGA. Conclusions The prevalence of undernutrition is not high in elderly leprosy patients. Any single objective parameter is not feasible for the assessment of nutrition status in these patients. A comprehensive method using SGA is preferred.

On the basis of the origin comparison of known endothelial genesis inhibitors, a 417-bp cDNA fragment was amplified from umbilical cord by RT-PCR and cloned into the expression vector pPIC9, followed by transformation into Pichia pastoris GS115. The resulted yeast was induced with methanol to express recombinant protein. The resulted protein was purified from culture broth and designated as EDI-8t. The in vitro study showed that EDI-8t, originated from collagen VIII, could specifically inhibit the growth and migration of bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) stimulated by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The protein also exhibited the activity to cause cell apoptosis. In vivo EDI-8t showed the identical activity comparing with endostatin to inhibit the growth of liver tumor transplanted into nude mice. Interestingly, EDI-8t showed higher activity than endostatin to inhibit tumor growth in metastatic model of melanoma mice.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Angiogenesis Inhibitors ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Base Sequence ; Cattle ; Cells, Cultured ; Collagen Type VIII ; chemistry ; genetics ; Endothelium, Vascular ; metabolism ; Genetic Vectors ; genetics ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; chemistry ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Pichia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; pharmacology