Objective To examine the circulating glucose and body weight in the transgenic MKR mouse model who expressed dominant-negative IGF-1 receptor and insulin receptor in skeletal muscle leading to systemic insulin resistance and diabetes. Methods MKR mice were genotyped by PCR analysis of tail DNA.And in these mice we examined the circulating glucose and body weight once a week from 1 to 16 weeks of age, and the circulating insulin and glucose tolerance at age of two-month-old by using C57 mice as controls. Results The descendents of MKR mice kept hereditary feature. And these mice had hyperglycaemia from 3 weeks of age,and an increasing body weight slowly(P<0.01).Twenty-fold significant hyperinsulinemia was observed in MKR mice,and they were glucose intolerant in 2-month-old male and female (P<0.01).Conclusions The MKR mouse is an excellent model of type 2 diabetes

Objective To analyze serum amyloid protein A (SAA) subtype and amino acid mutation sequence of the renal biopsy specimens from patients with renal amyloidosis secondary to ankylosing spondylitis (AS) by laser microdissection combined with mass spectometry.Methods Kidney biopsy formalin-preserved paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimen slices were stained by Congo red,the positive areas of Congo red staining were selected by microdissection,after trypsin hydrolysis and filtration,peptide samples were subjected to liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.Analysis softwares were used to evaluate the results,and the patient's amino acid sequence of SAA protein was compared to mutant amino acid sequence reported by literature or deduced from mutant SAA gene to determine whether there was a variation.Results SAA1 and SAA2 proteins with high abundance were identified by mass spectrometry,serum amyloid P and apolipoprotein E were also detected.No variation of SAA1 and SAA2 protein was detected.Conclusions The SAA1 and SAA2 proteins in AA amyloidosis secondary to ASwere identified for the first time,which enriched the pathogenesis of amyloidosis secondary to AS and provided a new method for the accurate classification of AA amyloidosis.

To identify novel transcripts and sRNA in genome of B .melitensis by transcriptome sequencing ,total RNA were extracted from B .melitensis culture and rRNA were removed .After the addition of adaptor ,RNA was reversely transcribed into cDNA ,which were then subjected to PCR amplification and sequencing .The generated reads were mapped to genome se‐quence of B .melitensis strain 16M .With the mapping results ,novel transcripts and sRNA were identified by bioinformatics methods .Sequencing results analysis showed that genome sequence was covered with the reads with good quality .A total of 773 genes were extended in their 5′and/or 3′ends of their original locations .Sixteen novel transcripts and 241 sRNAs candi‐dates were identified .RT‐PCR showed that some of the sRNAs were differentially expressed under stress conditions .In B . melitensis genome ,there is novel transcript which is not predicted .The sRNA does exist in B .melitensis and were expressed under different conditions .

OBJECTIVETo study the CPS-II mechanism underlying the pathological process of elevated blood ammonia leading to liver injury.

METHODSAn in vitro hyperammonemia hepatocyte cell model was constructed by exposure to various concentrations of NH4Cl. The subsequent changes to cellular morphology were observed by microscopy. to cell apoptosis were determined by flow cytometry, and to mRNA and protein expression of CPS-II were examined by real-time PCR and western blotting, respectively.

RESULTSExposure to NH₄Cl led to dose-dependent morphological damage, apoptosis and necrosis of the hepatocytes. The apoptosis rate was significantly higher for the high-dose group than for the control (no exposure) group (24.7% ± 2.39% vs. 4.1% ± 0.78%, q =8.06, P less than 0.05). Expression of the CPS-II mRNA was significantly elevated in response to NH₄Cl exposure (vs. the control group; F=191.881, P < 0.05).The CPS-II mRNA expression level increased with increasing NH₄Cl concentration (grey values: 1.040 ± 0.045, 1.641 ± 0.123, 2.285 ± 0.167 and 3.347 ± 0.124, respectively). The CPS-II protein expression level was also significantly enhanced in response to the NH₄Cl exposures (CPS-II protein and internal GAPDH grey value ratios: 0.099 ± 0.0130, 0.143 ± 0.025, 0.161 ± 0.036 and 0.223 ± 0.042, respectively; t=3.825, 3.968 and 6.908, P less than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCPS-II mRNA and protein expression levels become elevated with increase in the NH₄Cl concentrations, suggesting that in addition to the urea cycle, CPS-II may play an important role in the ammonia metabolism under the condition of hyperammonemia.

Ammonia ; Apoptosis ; Hepatocytes ; Humans ; Hyperammonemia ; Liver ; RNA, Messenger ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Somatostatin

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death worldwide. It is urgent to develop new drugs to improve the prognosis of ESCC patients. Here, we found benzydamine, a locally acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, had potent cytotoxic effect on ESCC cells. Benzydamine could suppress ESCC proliferation in vivo and in vitro. In terms of mechanism, CDK2 was identified as a target of benzydamine by molecular docking, pull-down assay and in vitro kinase assay. Specifically, benzydamine inhibited the growth of ESCC cells by inhibiting CDK2 activity and affecting downstream phosphorylation of MCM2, c-Myc and Rb, resulting in cell cycle arrest. Our study illustrates that benzydamine inhibits the growth of ESCC cells by downregulating the CDK2 pathway.
Humans ; Benzydamine ; Esophageal Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma/drug therapy* ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Phosphorylation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Apoptosis ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2