Objective To study the relationship between the expression level of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) protein and telomerase activity as well as its clinical significance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Immunohistochemical SP method was employed to detect hTERT protein expression in 52 cases of HCC and paired adjacent tumor tissues, and telomerase activity was examined in these samples with telomeric repeat amplification-ELISA. Results The positive rates of hTERT protein expression and telomerase activity in HCC were 86.5%(45/52) and 80.8%(42/52), respectively, which were significantly higher compared with the adjacent tumor tissues(P

Purpose: To realize the detection of T-wave end with an efficient and accurate method. Methods: R-wave was lo-cated using wavelet transforming, and then the T-wave detection interval was identified accttrately by avoiding the influence of heart rate and P-wave. In addition, T-wave peaks were determined referring to the modulus maxima in the interval. Based on these, the T-wave end was located with a simple and practical geometrical method, which was applied for the evaluation of QT database. Results: The positioning capability of the above-mentioned method reached to (-0.35225±18.5869) ms which was comparable or even better than those manual annotations from QT database by cardiologists. Conclusions: The experimental results showed that our algorithm for T-wave end detection is robust to noise, baseline drift and waveform morphological varia-tions, and easy to calculate and to realize.

Objective To investigate the association between SLCO1B1/ApoE gene polymorphisms and lipid-lowering efficacy and safety of rosuvastatin.Methods DNA samples were extracted from blood using nano paramagnetic particle method.The SLCO1B1 521T＞C and ApoE gene polymorphisms were screened by PCR-pyrophosphate sequencing method.Totally 152 patients received rosuvastatin orally at a dose of 10 mg/d.The lipidlowering efficacy was evaluated through detecting serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level before and 8 weeks after the treatment.The incidence of myopathic adverse effect was assessed by follow-up of the occurrence of myalgia.Results The gene distribution of SLCO1B1 521T＞C was 73.7％,23.7％ and 2.6％ respectively for TT,TC and CC in 152 patients,and the distribution of ApoE gene was 65.8％,13.2％ and 21.0％ respectively for ε3/ε3,ε3/ε2 and ε4/ε3.The genotype ε4/ε4,ε2/ε2 and ε4/ε2 were not detected.After orally receiving rosuvastatin 10 mg daily for 8 weeks,the decreased LDL-C levels showed significant differences (P＜0.05) among ApoE genotype ε3/ε2,ε3/ε3 and ε4/ε3 groups,and the frequencies of myalgia showed significant differences in the three genotype groups of SLCO1B1 521T＞C (P＜0.05).Conclusion The gene polymorphism of SLCO1B1/ApoE was correlated with efficacy and safety of rosuvastatin.The combined detection of SLCO1B1/ApoE genes can be utilized to predict efficacy and risk,and then realize individualized medication.

AIM: To prepare a soluble hemangiopoietin(HAPO) protein and to construct pET22b(+) expression vector, to obtain pure recombinant HAPO protein and to measure its bioactivity. METHODS: HAPO cDNA was amplified using RT-PCR method from a commercial human fetal liver cDNA library. The resulting product was cloned into pET22b(+) vector and transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3). The recombinant protein was isolated and purified by Ni~(2+)-NTA chelating resin and the chromatographies of SP Sepharose FF. The adhesion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were measured by adhesion assay. RESULTS: HAPO gene with a reading frame of 897 bp was successfully cloned from human fetal liver cDNA library, the expressed pET22b(+)-HAPO fused protein existed in a soluble form, with the yield above 10% total bacterial protein and its purity achieved above 80%. The activity assay showed that the treatment of HAPO enhanced total adherence of HUVEC in a concentration-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: HAPO protein can be expressed in a soluble form. HAPO may facilitate the homing of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells in vitro.

Objective To investigate the effect of the histological changes on rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) after 125I seed brachytherapy.Methods Twelve adult male Sprague-Dawley rats ( 150-180g each) were randomly divided into 6 groups,125I seeds with different activities of 0 (Titanium shell),14.8,18.5,22.2,25.9 and 29.6 MBq were implanted to 6 groups of rats respectively and the behavioral changes of rats were observed.The rats were killed in different periods after implantation,the morphological changes in DRG and surrounding muscle tissue were observed with an Olympus BX51 optical microscope and then the irradiation doses were estimated.Results After 125I seed implantation,the movement function of rats was not affected and the weight of rats gained after 7 days.After the titanium shell implantation,very few mild swelling was induced in neuroganglion cells that still had clear nucleolus and normal cytoplasm.At 14 days after 18.5 MBq seed implantation,cell swelling was more serious and cell dehydrating,nuclear condensation and nuclear fragmentation appeared after 30 days.At 60 days after 29.6 MBq of seed implantation,nuclear dissolution and cytoplasmic shrinkage were induced in a large number of cells.In general,the severity of fibrosis was aggravated with the time post-irradiation and the dose in the muscles around the ganglion.Conclusions After 125I seed implantation,the injury degree of DRG tissue is dose-dependent,and the 125I seed irradiation would have analgesic effect on releasing intractable pain.

Objective To observe the ameloblast morphology and ultrastructure changes of dental fluorosis in rats.Methods Forty SD rats were divided into experimental group and control group (20 rats in each group) by body weight using random number table method.Rats in experimental group were given drinking water with 50 mg/L fluoride to establish dental fluorosis model,and rats in control group were given drinking water without fluoride.All rats were killed at the 56th day,then ameloblast morphology and ultrastructure were observed by means of HE staining and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) at secretory,transition,maturation and post-maturation stages.Results Rats in experimental group showed typical symptoms of dental fluorosis,and lower incisors presented brown and white stripes on enamel surface,chalk color patches and other typical dental fluorosis changes,rats in control group no abnormality.HE staining results showed that differences were not observed between the two groups at the secretory and transformation stages,and few distortions and interstitial space widened were found in the experimental group at maturation and post-maturation stages.TEM displayed ultrastructure changes of ameloblasts,and no differences were observed between the two groups at secretory and transformation stages.Apoptosis was observed in some ameloblasts at the maturation stage in the experimental group,such as rough endoplasmic reticulum expansion,swelling,some ribosome particles exfoliating from endoplasmic reticulum,mitochondrial swelling and disappearance of crista,some nuclear membrane broken down,chromatin condensation and karyolysis.At post-maturation stage,intercellular space of the experimental group was wider than that of the control group.Conclusions Morphological and ultrastructure damage of ameloblasts may have occurred at the maturation stage in the process of dental fluorosis.Ameloblasts may be more sensitive to fluoride in dental enamel formation at maturation stage.

One hundred and seventy-one cases of hyperlipidemia were treated by moxibustion on Shenque (CV 8) and bilateral Zusanli (ST 36). After moxibustion, the blood-lipid contents of the patients with hyperlipidemia of various types were all lower than those before moxibustion.There was a significant difference between them. It is indicated that moxibustion on Shenque (CV 8) and bilateral Zusanli (ST 36) had the functions of reinforcing the spleen and kidney,warning yang, removing the stasis and treating both the principal and the secondary aspects of a disease for hyperlipidemia, which embodied the advantage of the function of regulating organism of moxibustion. The treatment by regulating can mobilize the regulating function of self to get the benign and bi-directional regulating effect for the various indexes of lipid metabolism and reach the intention of lowering blood-lipid.

Xiyanping is used to treat infectious diseases with antibiotics in clinic. The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanism of Xiyanping through studying the effect of the combination of Xiyanping with Cefazolin on the chemotaxis and phagocytic function of peripheral blood neutrophils in mice. Ten healthy mice were in control group. Forty healthy mice in experimental group were infected with staphylococcus aureus, and were randomly divided further into four groups, i. e. model group, Xiyanping group, Cefazolin group and combination group (Xiyanping with Cefazolin). Mice in the control group and model group were given normal saline (NS) through abdomen while those in other groups were given Xiyanping, Cefazolin, and Xiyanping with Cefazolin, respectively. The chemotaxis of peripheral blood neutrophils was detected with the transwell method, and the phagocytic function of peripheral blood neutrophils was analyzed with flow cytometry (FCM). In the present study, there was no significance on the chemotactic index of peripheral blood neutrophils in all the groups (P > 0.05). The actual phagocytotic rate and index of peripheral blood neutrophils in the blank group, Xiyanping group, and the combination group were significantly higher than those of the model group and Cefazolin group (P < 0.05). However, those were not significant in the blank group, Xiyanping group, and the combination group (P > 0.05) or between the model group and Cefazolin group (P> 0.05). Our results suggested the combination of Xiyanping and Cefazolin could enhance the therapeutic effect by improving the phagocytic function of peripheral blood neutrophils.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Cefazolin ; pharmacology ; Chemotaxis ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Neutrophils ; cytology ; drug effects ; Phagocytosis ; Staphylococcal Infections ; immunology ; Staphylococcus aureus

BACKGROUND: Imatinib has a significant pro-apoptosis effect on chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), but there are still some patients being resistant to it. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) affect the apoptosis of a variety of hematologic malignancies. However, the impacts of hUC-MSCs on the apoptosis of CML cells induced by imatinib remain unclear.OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether hUC-MSCs have an influence on the apoptosis of K562 cells induced by imatinib and to reveal the possible underlying mechanism.METHODS: K562 cells were cultured with hUC-MSCs or/and imatinib. Cellular apoptosis was measured with Annexin-V and PI staining by flow cytometry analysis. The protein expressions of Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3, caspase-9 and cleaved-PARP in K562 cells were detected by western blot assay. Pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK was used to block apoptosis in each group, and during this process the effect of caspase apoptosis signaling pathway was detected.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The apoptosis of K562 cells was enhanced, when imatinib was combined with hUC-MSCs. Western blot analysis showed that the expression of pro-apoptotic protein Bax was enhenced and the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 was suppressed. Furthermore, the cleaved forms of caspase-9, caspase-3 and PARP in K562 cell were higher in the hUC-MSCs+imatinib group than in the imatinib group. The apoptosis of K562 cells induced by the hUC-MSCs combined with imatinib was significantly inhibited by Z-VAD-FMK. In conclusion, these findings indicate that hUC-MSCs can enhance imatinib-induced apoptosis of K562 cells by activating caspase apoptosis signaling pathway.

Aim:To investigate the effect of Hemangiopoietin (HAPO) on the hematopoiesis reconstitution in sub-lethally irradiated Balb/c mice.Methods: Balb/c mice were underwent total body irradiation at 700 cGy 137Cs ? radiation and were treated with HAPO or recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) after irradiation. The hematopoiesis reconstitution of mice were detected. Cells from bone marrow of Balb/c mice were cultured with HAPO or rhG-CSF for 24 hours or 72 hours before or after the cells were irradiated. The viability of cells were assessed and the ability of in vitro hematopoiesis reconstitution were also detected. Result: rhG-CSF and HAPO treated mice both showed increased survival rate and increased colony forming units. The peripheral WBC number increased greatly. The HAPO group was most quickest compared with rhG-CSF group and PBS control group. The number of bone marrow cells at day 14 of rhG-CSF group was higher than that in HAPO group, but the number of bone marrow cells at day 32 of rhG-CSF was lower than that in HAPO group. The number of bone marrow cells at day 42 of rhG-CSF was below normal. The number of bone marrow cells at day 42 of HAPO group was nearly normal. The number of CFU-GEMM in HAPO group was most compared with that in rhG-CSF group and PBS control group at day 7, 14 and 21 after radiation. The survival rate of cells after radiation in HAPO group was markedly higher than that in PBS control group, but the survival rate of cells after radiation in rhG-CSF group was no notable difference compared with that in PBS control group. In MTT assay, both HAPO and rhG-CSF incubation stimulated proliferation of bone marrow cell at 72 hours after radiation. Bone marrow cells formed Hematopoietic islands in HAPO group after radiation and were positive for sca-1 and CD31. CD31 positive endothelial cells increased around the Hematopoietic islands. There was no Hematopoietic islands formation, few CD31 positive endothelial cells and no sca-1 positive cells in PBS control group. Conclusion: HAPO can promote hematopoiesis reconstitution in sub-lethally irradiated Balb/c mice. It can increase the survival rate of mice and stimulate the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells.