Objective To study the effect of maca extract on sport fatigue and its antioxidant effect.Methods 50 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group (normal breeding,without swimming,equal amount of distilled water for gavage),simple swimming group (swimming,equal amount of distilled water for gavage),swimming and medicine group (divided into maca extract 4.0,8.0 and 16.0 g/(kg· bw) groups,respectively),10 rats in each group.All rats were freely swimming in the circulating water flow daily for 15 days.On the 16th day of experiment,liver tissue samples were collected.The liver lipid peroxide (LPO),superoxide dismutase (SOD),glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and liver glycogen level were determined.Results When rats were administered with maca extract at the doses of 4.0,8.0,16.0 g/(kg· bw),respectively,the swimming time before sinking and the total swimming time were increased by 18.99%,64.46% and 90.69%,and 18.99%,56.23% and 94.72%,respectively,while the numbers of times of sinking were decreased by 27.44%,42.86%,64.11% (P<0.01),respectively,compared with the swimming rats without maca extract treatment.The LPO content in the liver of rats treated with maca extract 4.0,8.0,16.0 g/(kg· bw) were reduced by 31.31%,42.00% and 31.31%,respectively,while the levels of SOD,GSH-Px and liver glycogen were enhanced by 25.92%,31.82%,62.09%,12.33%,23.01%,46.36% and 17.83%,44.69%,62.99%,respectively,over those of rats without maca extract treatment.Conclusions Maca extract reduces the liver LPO level,increases liver glycogen level,improves the SOD and GSH-Px activity,therefore,plays a protective role in sport fatigue.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation between miR-221 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in drug-resistant glioma cells.

METHODSThe expression levels of miR-221, PTEN, p-Akt, E-cadherin, vimentin, and MRP1 were quantitatively analyzed in Z1 cells (primary drug-resistant cells), Z2 cells (drug-sensitive cells) and Z2-BCNU cells (drug-resistant cells) using fluorescent real-time PCR and Western blotting.

RESULTSThe expression levels of PTEN were significantly increased in Z2 cells compared with Z1 and Z2-BCNU cells which overexpressed miR-221 and vimentin. The expression levels of vimentin, p-Akt and MRP1 were significantly decreased in Z2 cells overexpressing E-cadherin.

CONCLUSIONMiR-221 regulates the expression of EMT-related genes through down-regulation of PTEN and activation of PI3-K/Akt signaling.

Cadherins ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Multidrug Resistance-Associated Proteins ; metabolism ; PTEN Phosphohydrolase ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; Vimentin ; metabolism

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of spatio-temporal image correlation with M-mode display ( STIC-M ) in monitoring fetal left ventricular systolic function in fetuses with congenital heart disease(CHD) . Methods Five hundred and thirty-six normal fetuses and 34 fetuses with CHD( 29 without hydrops and 5 with hydrops) were involved in the study . Left ventricular fractional shortening ( LVFS) was measured using STIC-M . The data of normal fetuses was used to construct reference ranges of LVFS for assessment of fetuses with CHD . Results The LVFS of the normal fetuses [ range :26 .8％ - 42 .9％ , mean :( 34 .9 ± 4 .1) ％ ] was negatively correlated with gestational age ( r = - 0 .16 , P < 0 .001) . Compared with the normal controls ,LVFS was significantly decreased in CHD fetuses with hydrops ( P < 0 .001) . However ,there was no significant difference in LVFS between normal controls and CHD fetuses without hydrops ( P > 0 .05) . Conclusions STIC-M is a new method that can be used to measure LVFS to evaluate fetal ventricular systolic function . The fetal ventricular contractile function of CHD fetuses without hydrops may not be damaged or is in compensation stage . The fetuses with cardiac hydrops generally become lower .