The subunit ?_0 of guanine nucleotide- binding protein, in the areas of rat brain and spinal cord was localized by immunohistochemical methods. It was found that in the rat brain, specific ?_0-like immunoreactivity(?_0-Li) displayed regional heterogeneity, a high density of ?_0-Li revealed in neuropil, and somatic membranes as well as the neuronal processes.Most intense ?_0-Li can be seen in substantia nigra(pars reticulata), interpcduncular nucleus, habenulo-interpeduncular tract, strata oriens and radiatum of the hippocampus, and substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord. There are also areas of moderate staining ie: the molecular layer of cerebral and cerebellar cortex, habenula, caudate-putamen complexes, the midline nuclei of thalamus and hypothalamus, periaqueductal grey, grey layers of superior colliculus, the olivo-cerebellar tract and the spinal tract of the trigeminal nerve as well. By contrast, the immunoreactvity of ?_0 in septal nuclei, globus pallidus, red nucleus, and the regions adjacent canalis centralis of the spinal cord showed much weaker. In addition, on the membranes and the processes of the neuronal cell bodies in the periaqueductal grey, substantia nigra, reticular formation, medial geniculate body and the nucleus of the trapezoid body were ?_0-Li positive.The results of AChE staining revealed that the AChE-positivc nerve terminals was coinsident with the presence of ?_0-Li in the following regions. For instance: the molecular layer of cerebral cortex, hippocampus, spinal tract of the trigminal nerve, and substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord, where both the ?_0-Li and the AChE activity were positive. It is suggested that ?_0 subunit of Go-protein in brain might play roles in membrane signal transduction, and might have some relationship with cholinergic nerve.

Female ; Humans ; Laser Therapy ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Semicircular Canals ; surgery ; Vertigo ; etiology ; surgery

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of pioglitazone on the metabolism of glucose and lipid in patients with Impaired Glucose Regulation(IGR).Methods60 cases of IGR received conventional education on diabetes prevention,while the patients in intervention group(30 cases) accepted pioglitazone 15 mg once a day for 12 weeks.Blood pressure(BP),body weight,waist circumference,hip circumference were measured to calculate body mass index(BMI) and waist-hip ratio(WHR).The Fasting blood glucose(FBG),2 h postprandial blood glucose,glcosylated hemoglobin(GHb,HbA1C),fasting serum insulin(FINS),postprandial serum insulin(2hINS),total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),hepatic function,renal function were determined before and 12 weeks after intervention.ResultsAfter intervention,BP,BMI,FBG,2hBG,FINS,2hINS,HbA1C,TC,TG,LDL-C had been decreased significantly in intervention group(P<0.05 or P<0.01).There were significant differences between intervention group and control group(P<0.05 or P<0.01) in all indexes except body weight,WHR,hepatic function,renal function.ConclusionPioglitazone can obviously improve the metabolism of glucose and lipid in patients with IGR.

Using in vitro everted gut to investigate the intestinal absorption of the extracts from Polygonum orientale at different concentration. UPLC-MS/MS was used to detect the content of protocatechuic acid, isoorientin, orientin, vitexin, cynaroside, quercitrin, kaempferol-rhamnoside in different intestinal segments, then compared the results with the absorption of chemical components of extractive P. orientale in each intestinal segments, and calculated the absorption parameter. We took the statistic analysis with SPSS statistic software. The influence significance of each factors were analyzed to describe the character of absorption. The absorption of each component is linearity in different intestinal segments and different dose, and the square of coeficient correlation exceed 0.95, which consistent with zero order rate process. The K(a) increase along with the raised dosage of the extractive P. orientale (R2 > 0.95), indicated it is the passive absorption; different intestinal segments have different absorption. And the absorption trend in intestinal is duodenum, jejunum, ileum are greater than the colon. As ingredients are selectively absorbed in intestinal sac, the everted intestinal sac method is selected to assess the intestinal absorption charcteristics of ingredients of extractive P. orientale.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacokinetics ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; metabolism ; Intestinal Absorption ; Male ; Polygonum ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective action of Epimedium against chemotherapy-induced damage to rat epididymides.

METHODSFifty 60-day-old male rats were divided into a control, a model and a treatment group. Procarbazine was injected into the abdominal cavity of the model rats at the dose of 30 mg/(kg x d). In addition to procarbazine, Epimedium was given intragastrically to the treatment group. The changes in the ultrastructure of the epididymis were observed after 10 and 20 days.

RESULTSElectron microscopy showed that the chemotherapy-induced damages to the epididymal epithelia mainly included cell swelling, local cavitation of mitochondria, tumor-like change in nucleoli, agglutination of marginal translocation of heterochromatin and cell apoptosis. The damage to the epithelial ultrastructure was slight in the treatment group as compared with the model rats. Chemotherapy significantly affected sperm concentration, sperm viability and sialic acid (SA), which were (15.59 +/- 4.01) x 10(6)/ml, (76.71 +/- 10.11)% and (19.38 +/- 9.34) g/mg prot in the model group in comparison with (10.63 +/- 3.82) x 10(6)/ml (P < 0.01), (60.03 +/- 7.54)% (P < 0.01) and (13.62 +/- 7.81) g/g prot (P < 0.05) in the control. Epimedium significantly increased sperm viability in the treatment group (60.03 +/- 7.54)% as compared with the model rats (69.90 +/- 12.58)% (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONEpimedium can lessen chemotherapy-induced damage to the epididymis and protect the reproductive function of rats.

Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; toxicity ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Epididymis ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; ultrastructure ; Epimedium ; chemistry ; Infertility, Male ; chemically induced ; physiopathology ; prevention & control ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Phytotherapy ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Bladder cancer is a common malignancy in the genitourinary system and the current therapeutic approaches are unsatisfactory. Urinary cell-free DNA (ucf DNA) has the ability to give comprehensive and crucial information on cancer as it carries genetic messages from cells shedding directly into urine as well as transporting from circulation. The ucf DNA of patients with bladder cancer carries disease information, suggesting that ucf DNA may have the ability to detect, monitor, and prognosticate patients with bladder cancer. The ucf DNA analysis bridges the gap between current techniques and enhances diagnostic and detection capabilities, and has a very promising future in term of translation into clinical practice. This article reviewed the progress of clinical applications of ucf DNA in bladder cancer.

Objective To investigate the association of post-stroke depression (PSD) with gene polymorphisms of catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) Val1 08/158Met and dopamine transporter 40bp variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in dopamine metabolism system. Methods Sixty-eight patients with PSD and 91 patients only suffered from stroke, admitted to our hospital from January 2010to June 2010, were chosen; the gene polymorphisms ofCOMT Val108/158Met and DAT 40 bp VNTR were analyzed by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results The genotypes of COMT gene amplifications were wild type (G/G),homozygous mutant type (A/A) and heterozygous type (A/G); 7 repeated genotypes (7/7, 9/7, 10/7, 10/9,10/10, 11/10 and 11/11) were noted in the DA T gene amplifications; frequencies of COMT alleles and genotypes were significantly different between the 2 groups (x2=5.703, P=0.017;x2=6.489, P=0.039). The frequencies of COMT alleles and genotypes were significantly different between the 2 female groups (x2=4.610, P=0.032;x2=6.547, P=0.024), but no significant differences were found between the 2 male groups (P＞0.05). The frequencies and heterozygosity of DAT alleles and genotypes showed no obvious differences between the 2 groups (P＞0.05). Conclusion The gene polymorphism of COMT Val108/158Met may be associated with PSD, while that of DAT 40bp VNTR is not.

OBJECTIVETo observe the association between ADRA1A gene polymorphism and autoantibodies against the alpha1-adrenergic receptor in hypertensive patients.

METHODSA total of 396 patients with essential hypertension admitted to our hospital were selected and autoantibodies in sera were detected by ELISA, and patients were divided into the autoantibody positive and negative group. Genomic DNA was extracted from erythrocytes obtained from EDTA-treated blood by the Blood DNA extraction kit. Gene polymorphisms were detected by ligase detection reaction (LDR), including rs574584, rs1048101, rs3739216 and rs3802241. The frequency of genotypes and haplotype were analyzed.

RESULTSThe frequencies of detected genotypes between the autoantibody against the alpha1-adrenergic receptor positive group and negative group were similar (P > 0.05) while significant difference was in the frequencies of haplotypes (all P < 0.05). The frequencies of genotypes with rs1048101 (genotype C/C, C/T, P = 0.017) and rs3802241 (genotype A/A, A/G, P = 0.004) were significant different in autoantibody positive group compared to negative group in patients with stage 2.

CONCLUSIONADRA1A gene polymorphism might correlate with the alpha1-adrenergic receptor autoantibody production in hypertensive patients.

Autoantibodies ; blood ; Genotype ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-1

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of butyrylchitosan on the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen ( PCNA) in fibroblast proliferation of rabbit eyes after filtering operation.

METHODSTwenty-four New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into 2 groups, with 12 rabbits in each group. Rabbits in one group received butyrylchitosan under scleral patch of trabeculectomy in right eyes and trabeculectomy in left eyes (trabeculectomy group). Rabbits in the other group received mitomycin C (MMC) in trabeculectomy in right eyes (MMC group) and without operation in left eyes. Rabbits were killed 1, 4, and 12 weeks after operations. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detected PCNA expression in fibroblast.

RESULTSAfter use of butyrylchitosan, the PCNA expression significantly decreased compared with trabeculectomy group (P < 0. 001). PCNA expression in MMC group was significantly lower than in trabeculectomy group (P <0. 001).

CONCLUSIONUsing butyrylchitosan under scleral patch of trabeculectomy decreases PCNA expression in proliferating cell and inhibits the scarring at filtering site.

Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Chitosan ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Female ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; metabolism ; Filtering Surgery ; Male ; Membranes, Artificial ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; biosynthesis ; Rabbits

OBJECTIVESTo observe the role of PPARgamma during the activation process of hepatic stellate cells (HSC).

METHODSBy morphology and RT-PCR, we study the changes of expression of PPARgamma in culture-activated HSC or in vivo activated HSC induced by dimethylnitrosamine (DMN).

RESULTSIn vitro, the expression level of PPARgamma in freshly isolated HSC (0.72+/-0.01) significantly reduced to 0.48+/-0.03 on the third day of culture (t = 19.8372, P<0.01), and reduced 70% on the seventh culture-day and could not be detected after the second passage. In vivo, HSC freshly isolated from normal control rats expressed PPARgamma (0.76+/-0.01). During the development of rat liver fibrosis induced by DMN, the expression level significantly reduced to 0.46+/-0.02 after the third injection of DMN (t = 29.5318, P<0.01), and reduced 66% on the end of first week and could not be detected on the end of second and third week.

CONCLUSIONThe expression of PPARgamma might play an important role on the maintenance of resting-form of HSC, and the reduction of expression of PPARgamma might be an early event during the activation process of HSC.

Animals ; Liver ; cytology ; Liver Cirrhosis ; etiology ; pathology ; Male ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear ; physiology ; Transcription Factors ; physiology