Adipocytes ; chemistry ; Blood Vessels ; Cytokines

Objective To observe the pathological regression of rabbit liver after the low-dose irradiation with high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), and to explore the role and mechanism of the irradiation in changing acoustic environment of rabbit liver. Methods Pathological study was performed in 10 New Zealand white rabbits, the livers were observed under light and electron microscope. The observation was done immediately after low-dose HIFU irradiation and in 2, 3, 5, 7 days after the low-dose irradiation with HIFU. Results Light microscope changes: Edema existed in hepatocytes after irradiation instantly, congestion and aggravated edema were found at 2-3 days, then the injured cells recovered gradually. Electron microscope changes: Detached endothelial cells of hepatic sinusoid and swelling organelles were observed after irradiation, while 2 or 3 days later, erythrocyte aggregation was found in hepatic sinusoid and cavitation was found in cytoplasm. Thereafter, organelles swelling reduced till resumed to normal. Conclusion Low-dose HIFU irradiation can make corresponding changes to the acoustic environment of rabbit liver.

Objective To assess the influence of pre-exposure to non-ablating ultrasound on the effect of high intensity focused ultrasound(HIFU)ablation.Methods Forty rabbits with transplanted VX2 tumors on their livers were divided into three pre-exposure groups(60 W,80 W and 100 W)and a control group(O W),with 10 rabbits in each group.Each group was pre-exposed to lower intensity focused ultrasound at the corresponding power.From each group,5 rabbits were randomly selected to be exposed to HIFU on the next day.Each group received 14scans.The rabbits were sacrificed 24 h later to take tissue samples for tfipheny tetrazolium chloride(TTC)staining to measure the amount of coagulative necrosis.Hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH)were also measured to observe the structure and activation of pre-exposed tumors.Results After HIFU exposure,the ablated volumes increased with pre-exposure acoustic intensity,and all volumes were larger than those in the control group.The ablating efficiency in the 100 W group was the highest.The pre-exposure did not itself ablate tumor tissue,but in the 80 W and 100 W groups the structure and activation of the tissues changed.Those in the 60 W group were not obviously altered.Conclusion Prior exposure to non-ablating ultrasound can highly enhance the efficacy of HIFU ablation.

Objective To investigate the effects of artesunate (Art) on cell proliferation and apoptosis of human Tenon's capsule fibroblasts (HTFs),and discuss the countermeasures of bleb scarfing in glaucoma.Methods In vitro,HTFs were cultivated and applicated by different concentrations (50 μg · mL-1,100 μg · mL-1,150 μg ·mL-1,200 μg · mL-1) of Art for 48 hours.The effect of Art on cell proliferation was assessed by MTT method.The rate of apoptosis induced by Art was determined by flow cytometry.Western Blot was performed to detect the relative expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2 after Art was treated.Results After treated with Art for 48 hours,compared with blank control group,Art (50 μg · mL-1,100 μg · mL-1,150 μg · mL-1,200 μg · mL-1) group exhibited notable anti-proliferative effect on HTFs with concentration-dependence (all P ＜ 0.05).The results of flow cytometry showed that the apoptosis rates (8.80％ ±0.88％,11.60％ ±0.56％,16.30％ ±1.03％,23.40％ ±1.62％) of HTFs were significantly enhanced with the increase of Art concentration (all P ＜ 0.05).The relative expression levels of Bax were obviously high with the increase of Art concentration,while Bcl-2 levels were significantly low with the increase of Art concentration (all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Art can inhibit the proliferation and induce cell apoptosis of HTFs possibly by enhancing the expression of Bax and reducing the expression of Bcl2.Art may be a potential drug in preventing fibrous scar formation after glaucoma filtration surgery.

Objective To investigate the effects of rubella virus R16 infection on heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and heat shock transcription factor 4 (HSF4) in the human embryonic lens epithelial cells in vitro. Methods The human embryonic lens epithelial cells were infected by rubella virus R16 for 3, 7 and 14 days respectively in vitro. Then the mRNA levels of HSP70 and HSF4 were measured by Real-time PCR assays, the HSP70 protein level was detected by Western blot assay, and the DNA sequence of HSF4 was also identified by DNA Sequencing. Results Both mRNA and protein levels of HSP70 were increased dramatically at 3 and 7 days after rubella virus R16 infection in vitro. But mRNA levels of HSF4 were decreased significantly. The DNA sequence of HSF4 had no change in the human embryonic lens epithelial cells at 14 d after rubella virus R16 infection. Conclusions Rubella virus R16 could directly induce the increased expression of HSP70 in the human embryonic lens epithelial cells infected by rubella virus R16 in vitro, which may prevent human embryonic lens epithelial cells from infecting with virus. The heat shock transcription factor may serve as a negative regulator at transcription level. However, the DNA sequence of HSF4 had no change in the human embryonic lens epithelial cells within 14 days after rubella virus R16 infection.

Objective To investigate the effects of epigenetic drugs on 2D- and 3D-cultured cholangiocarcinoma cells in vitro.Methods In this study,we have built compact and round TFK-1 spheroid in poly-HEMA coated 96-well plate and determined the effects of epigenetical drugs on 2D and 3D cultured cholangiocarcinoma cells:TFK-1.Viability of 2D and 3D cells model was examined by WST assay and FDA/PI staining. Using methylation-specific PCR analysis,we demonstrated the changes of methylation status of promoters regarding three tumor suppressor genes APC,E-Cadherin,and p16 INK4A.Results The average diameters of compact and round TFK-1 spheroids were in the range of 350-400 μm.The TFK-1 spheroid cells were more resistant to the epigenetic drugs and demonstrated a 11.2155-fold higher IC50 values for hydralazine and valproic acid than the same cells grown as monolayer. Higher doses of epigenetic drugs were needed to reverse the hypermethylation status in 3D cultured cells than 2D cells; however,the parallel dosage - dependent characteristic did not show in the 3D spheroid group.Conclusions Taken together,we established a 3D culture model of human cholangiocarcinoma epithelial spheroid.The 3D spheroid cells are more complex than the 2D monolayer cells and their unique characteristics are able to affect the consequences of epigenetic therapy.The 3D spheroid is a promising model for the research of epigenetic therapy.

To explore the relativity between alexithymia and cognitive function in somatoform disorder patients.A total of 40 patients aged 18-65 years fulfilling the criteria of ICD-10 for somatoform disorders were recruited as research group.And 40 normal healthy subjects were selected as control group.Toronto alexithymia scale-20 (TAS-20) was employed to examine the alexithymia.And cognitive abilities screening instrument (CASI) was used to measure their cognitive ability.The 9-factor scores and total score of CASI test in patients with somatoforill disorder were significantly lower than those in the normal controls (P ＜ 0.05 or ＜ 0.01).The 3-factor scores and total score of TAS-20 test in patients withsomatoforill disorder were significantly higher than those in the normal controls (P ＜ 0.05 or ＜ 0.01).In research group,CASI scores were negatively correlated with the TAS-20 scores (P ＜0.05 or 0.01).

Objective:To explore C-terminal tensin-like(CTEN) gene in breast cancer tissue and its significance. Methods:Explore the prevalence and clinical significance of CTEN expression in invasive breast cancer cases ( n = 1409 ) using immunohistochemistry and tissue microarray. Results: The staining pattern for CTEN in breast tumour cells was homogenous cytoplasmic staining. Moderate to strong cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for CTEN was observed in 90% of the studied cases(1268 cases) . CTEN expression was significantly associated with poor prognostic variables including larger tumour size(χ2=4. 254,P=0. 044), higher histological grade(χ2=7. 555,P=0. 019),axillary nodal involvement(χ2=5. 842,P=0. 035),poor Nottingham Prognostic Index (χ2=7. 578,P=0. 016),Local recurrence(χ2=5. 211,P=0. 039),Regional recurrence(χ2=4. 778,P=0. 042),Distant metastases (χ2=4. 780,P=0. 041) and Histological type(χ2=7. 634,P=0. 012). Significant associations were observed between increased CTEN expression and up-regulation of phosphorylated-Akt(P-Akt)(χ2=27. 23,P<0. 001),Phosphoinositide 3 kinase(PIK3)(χ2=37. 22,P<0. 001) and N-cadherin proteins(χ2=26. 91,P<0. 001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that patients with high CTEN ex-pression had significantly shorter Breast Cancer Specific Survival(P=0. 004) and Metastasis-Free Survival(P=0. 041) than those with low-CTEN expression. Multivariate analysis showed that CTEN was not an independent prognostic marker in breast cancer. Conclusion:CTEN expression increase is a cancer gene,its association with poor prognostic parameters,and the expression of CTEN associated with poor prognosis of breast cancer parameters.

Objective To investigate whether the interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene therapy has the effect of anti liver fibrosis in mice and its mechanism.Methods Liver fibrosis was induced by long-term thioacetamide administration in mice.Human IL-10 expression plasmid was delivered via electroporation after liver fibrosis was established.The immunohistochemistry was used to study the expression of IL-10 in liver.Sircol collagen determination method was used to detect the contents of collagen in the liver.The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expressions of liver fibrosis-related genes,including transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1),collagen α1,tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α),intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1),fibronectin,vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1),and matrix metalloproteinase-inhibiting factor (TIMP-1,TIMP-2).Results Immunohistochemical results showed IL-10 gene therapy reversed hepatic fibrosis.Sircol collagen assay showed that IL-10 gene therapy reduced the content of collagen fibers(P ＜ 0.05).RT-PCR revealed IL-10 gene therapy reduced liver TGF-β1,TNF-α,collagen α1,cell adhesion molecule,and TIMPs mRNA upregulation.Conclusions Electroporative IL-10 gene therapy might be an effective therapeutic reagent for liver fibrosis with potential future clinical applications.

As the understanding of science creativity becomes more profound,people find out that organizational barriers are greatly deterring and discouraging the advent and development of science creativity.Drawing upon the Situation Theory of Creativity and earlier researches,we identified crucial organizational factors that imposed influence on science creativity and considered those factors as gauge to reflect on the current practice of science research management in China.The findings show that science research funding mode,collaboration and communication opportunities and accesses,science researchers' career development and evaluation system,research group leadership,size and diversity of research teams are all key components of the organizational barriers that failed to nurture and spur Chinese researchers to solve long existed and challenging problems with original approaches and creative thinking.Therefore,innovations of science research management are necessary and urgent.