Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is one of the most important hypoxia signal transmission factor,and it has been observed in many human tumors.HIF-1 could play a role of promoting tumor by regulating the expression level of transforming growth factor-β in vivo and in vitro,and then affecting the development and prognosis of tumor.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cancer can enhance the abilities of invasion and metastasis of cancer cells,which is one of the reasons for treatment failure.Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is an important regulatory factor in EMT of cancer cells.Recent researches show that activation of PPARγplays a role in the occurrence and development of EMT by regulating the E-cadherin,Smad complex and body microenvironment.Therefore,in-depth research for the relationship among PPARγ,EMT and cancer is expected to provide a new direction for tumor treatment.

Animals ; Humans ; Inflammasomes ; Liver Diseases ; pathology

Chemokines are major regulators of cell transformation and adhesion.Recent study has demonstrated that CXCR7 can bind to CXCL11 and CXCL12 with high affinity,and the activated CXCR7 may influence tumor invasion and metastasis by regulating extracellular matrix (ECM) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and other signal transduction pathways.Therefore,in-depth study of the molecular mechanisms of CXCR7 in tumor invasion and metastasis may provide a more effective theoretical basis for tumor treatment.

Objective To investigate the relationship and mechanism of the heme oxygenase-1 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and the oxidative stress in diabetic nephropathy. Methods Two groups of diabetic patients with or without diabetic nephropathy and a normal control group were enrolled in this study. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, serum MDA level, ROS level, HO-1 mRNA level and HO-1 protein expression in PBMC were determined. Results In control group, diabetic group and diabetic nephropathy group , the MDA levels significantly increased[(14.23±5.07)nmol/ml vs (24.90±7.12)nmol/ml vs (43.83±16.97)nmol/ml](F＝37.022,P＜0.01), the ROS levels significantly increased (113.18±58.59 vs 364.54±88.67 vs 524.35±162.51)(F＝68.369,P＜0.01) and the HO-1 protein expression also increased significantly (22.84±9.98 vs 36.72±15.85 vs 58.1±15.93)(F＝31.302,P＜0.01). There was a positive correlation among the HO-1 mRNA, protein expression and MDA level(r＝0.407,0.429,P＜0.05). Conclusions There existed a severer oxidative stress condition in patients with diabetic nephropathy compared with the patients without diabetic nephropathy. HO-1 could be a potential pathway to ameliorate oxidative stress in diabetic kidney disease patients.

The present study aims to isolate neural stem cells from neonatal rat hippocampus and induce them to differentiate into cholinergic neurons. A multipotent cell line derived from the hippocampi of neonatal rats which had the ability to form clones was incubated in serum-free DMEM/F12 medium added with 20ng/ml basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and B27. After differentiation of the neural stem cells, immunocytochemistry was used to detect nestin, the antigen of the cell clone, and β-tubulin (Tuj 1 ), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and galactocerebroside (Galc), the markers specific for neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, respectively. Embryonic chick skeletal muscle extract was used to induce the differentiation of the neural stem cells into cholinergic neurons. The results showed that the cell line isolated from the hippocampi of neonatal rats expressed nestin and had the potential to form clones and differentiate into neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Embryonic chick skeletal muscle extract can induce 9.6% of the isolated cell line to differentiate into cholinergic neurons compared with 3.9% in controls. These findings suggested that the cell line, which expressed nestin antigen, was a multipotent cell line capable of self-renewing, and was believed to contain stem cells of the CNS. These neural stem cells can be induced to differentiate into cholinergic neurons by using embryonic chick skeletal muscle extract.

Objective To analyze the role of cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-1 (caspase-1) in a mouse model of D-galactosamine (D-GalN) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced acute liver failure (ALF) and to study the possible mechanism. Methods C57BL/ 6 mice were randomly divided into four groups including control group, Z-WEHD-FMK (caspase-1 inhibitor) treatment group, ALF model group and Z-WEHD-FMK-treated ALF group. The mouse model of ALF was established by intraperitoneally injec-ting the mice with D-GalN (450 mg/ kg) and LPS (10 μg/ kg). The damages in liver tissues were evaluated based on the histopathological examination and the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate trans-aminase (AST) in serum samples. Western blot assay was performed to analyze the expression of caspase-1 and the phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β). The qRT-PCR was used to measure the expression of inflammatory cytokines at transcriptional level. Results The expression of caspase-1 at both mRNA and protein levels were gradually increased during the development of ALF. Compared with the mice with ALF, those in the Z-WEHD-FMK-treated ALF group showed less severe liver damages on histopatholog-ical examination and decreased levels of ALT and AST in serum samples [ALT: (479. 2±39. 5) U/ L vs (998. 5±60. 4 ) U/ L, P<0. 05; AST: ( 478. 5±28. 6) U/ L vs ( 1 180. 7±91. 4) U/ L, P<0. 05]. The expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-18 and IL-33 at transcriptional level were significantly suppressed in mice with ALF upon the Z-WEHD-FMK intervention. Results of the Western blot assay indicated that Z-WEHD-FMK suppressed the activities of GSK-3β by enhancing its phosphorylation. Conclusion This study demon-strated that caspase-1 could promote the activation of GSK-3β resulting in the development of inflammation responses and liver damages during the development of ALF in mice.

Objective To investigate the effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α( PPARα) on macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses with the interference of lipopolysaccharide and the possible mechanism.Methods The bone marrow stem cells were isolated from the femora of mice.The granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor ( GM-CSF) was used to stimulate the in vitro differentiation from bone marrow stem cells into primary macrophages.An in vitro model with cultured cells expressing in-flammatory cytokines was established by treating the primary macrophages with lipopolysaccharide ( LPS) .A specific chemical agonist, Wy-14643, was used to activate PPARα. Autophagy inhibitors including 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and small interfering RNA against Atg7 ( Atg7 siRNA) were used to inhibit the autophagy.Western blot assay was performed to detect the expression of autophagy-related proteins ( Atg5, Atg7, Beclin-1 and LC3).The transcriptional levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, Atg5, Atg7 and Beclin-1 were analyzed by qRT-PCR.Results Compared with the macrophages treated with LPS alone, those pretreated with various concentrations of Wy-14643 (10 μmol/L, 25 μmol/L and 50 μmol/L) showed inhibited ex-pression of proinflammatory cytokines ( TNF-α,IL-1βand IL-6) and enhanced expression of autophagy-relat-ed proteins (Atg5, Atg7 and Beclin-1) at mRNA level in a dose-dependent manner.The expression of auto-phagy-related proteins (Atg5, Atg7, Beclin-1 and LC3) by macrophages was promoted with the pretreatment of Wy-14643 as indicated by Western blot assay.The transcriptional levels of TNF-α, IL-1βand IL-6 were increased in Wy-14643 pretreated-macrophages after stimulation with 3-MA or Atg7 siRNA .Conclusion PPARαsuppressed the macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses by promoting autophagy, suggesting that the PPARα-autophagy pathway might be one of the signaling pathways regulating LPS induced-inflamma-tory responses.

ObjectiveTo investigate the Jiuqiang Naoliqing's (JNQ) histological influence on hearts, brains and kidneys of spontaneous hypertension rats (SHR). MethodsThe rats were randomly divided into four groups: Wistar control group, SHR group, higher dose JNQ treated SHR group(0.530 g/kg) and lower dose JNQ treated SHR group(0.265 g/kg). The treatment lasted five weeks, and the rats' blood pressure were monitored through tail pulse. After the perfusion procedure, rats' hearts, brains and kidneys were rapidly removed in low temperature condition and stored in 10% formalin solution of 4 ℃.Then routine sections were obtained and the slides were stained with HE.ResultsBefore treatment, the blood pressure of SHR groups were distinctly higher than that of the control group(P<0.01), nevertheless, no obvious blood pressure downgrade were observed after three week and five week treatment. Histopathologic study showed: in SHR group,heart with hypertrophic cardiac muscle, proliferative arterial wall and strictured lumina; Cortex with angiostenosis, proliferative vascular wall and large perivascular space; Glomerulus atrophy with hyaline degeneration. These pathologic changes got respective alleviation after five week treatment of JNQ, particularly in higher dose group.ConclusionSHR who got five week treatment of JNQ didn't gain obvious blood pressure downgrade. But the treatment did good to their vital organs and can obviously alleviate hearts, brains and kidneys' pathologic changes.

ObjectiveTo establish a droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) method for detecting hepatitis B virus (HBV) covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA). MethodsHBV cccDNA standard substance was constructed, and HBV cccDNA primers and probes were designed based on the structural differences between HBV cccDNA and relaxed circular DNA (rcDNA). HBV plasmid was amplified to obtain HBV cccDNA standard substance, and a ddPCR detection method was established with the standard substance after gradient dilution as the template for HBV cccDNA detection; the limit of detection and repeatability of this method were analyzed. Liver tissue samples were collected from 20 patients who attended Beijing YouAn Hospital, Capital Medical University, from June 2017 to October 2020, all of whom were diagnosed with HBV infection, and DNA of the samples was extracted and digested with plasmid-safe ATP-dependent DNA enzyme to obtain HBV cccDNA template; the ddPCR detection method was evaluated in clinical samples and was compared with the quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) detection method. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between the two groups. ResultsThe HBV cccDNA detection method based on ddPCR was established, which accurately detected HBV cccDNA in standard substance after gradient dilution, with a limit of detection of 1 copy/μl, and the coefficients of variation of 1×103, 1×102, and 1×101 copies/μl standard substances were 441%, 3.98%, and 5.09%, respectively. HBV cccDNA was detected in the samples of 20 patients with HBV infection; the ddPCR detection method detected HBV cccDNA in 17 patients, with a positive rate of 85%, while the qPCR detection method detected HBV cccDNA in 11 patients, with a positive rate of 55%, and there was a significant difference between the two methods (χ2=4.286, P=0038). ConclusionThe established ddPCR method for detecting HBV cccDNA has a low limit of detection and good repeatability, which provides an effective tool for further clinical detection.