Actins ; metabolism ; Animals ; Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Cadherins ; metabolism ; Carotid Artery Injuries ; metabolism ; pathology ; Endothelium, Vascular ; metabolism ; ultrastructure ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Rats ; Troponin ; metabolism

Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left

Drug-Eluting Stents ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; etiology ; Sirolimus ; administration & dosage ; Thrombosis ; etiology

Alanine Transaminase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Liver ; drug effects ; Male ; Mice ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology

Objective To optimize methods of culturing smooth muscle progenitor cells(SPCs) from mononuclear cells(MNCs) of peripheral blood. Methods Human MNCs isolated from buffy coat were seeded on M-199 with bovine pituitary extraction.On the eighth day outgrowth cells were stimulated with platelet-derived growth factor-BB(PDGF-BB).Fifteen days later,immunofluorescence,Western blot or RT-PCR was used to analyzed the expression of smooth muscle cell specific ?-actin(?-SMA),smooth muscle myosin heavy chain(SM MHC),Calponin,CD34,Tie-2 and Flk-1,and fluorescence activated cell sorter was employed to examine ?-SMA positive cells ratio. Results The cells stimulated by PDGF-BB for 15 d were positive for ?-SMA,SM MHC,Calponin,CD34 and Flk-1,but negative for Tie-2.The ?-SMA positive cells ratio was(90.57?5.63)%,significantly different from that of the control(P

OBJECTIVETo study the blood pressure (BP) changes in the liver transplant recipients.

METHODSA total of 206 patients without preoperation hypertension received liver transplantation in our hospital from February 2001 to July 2005. The BP level and serum immunosuppressant concentration at preoperation and various time points post operation were determined.

RESULTSCompared with the preoperation, the average systolic and diastolic pressure was significantly increased at the 2 week, 1, 2, 4 and 6 months post operation. The mobility of hypertension increased significantly after liver transplantation, with the highest mobility (46.49%) at the 1st month post operation. There was no linear correlation between the immunosuppressant (FK506) concentration and the BP level at any time point.

CONCLUSIONThere was a high hypertension incidence after liver transplantation. Although the use of immunosuppressive drugs accompanied with the BP increase, there was no linear correlation between the immunosuppressant concentration and the BP level post operation.

Blood Pressure ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypertension ; etiology ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; adverse effects ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; physiopathology ; Retrospective Studies

Secretory anti-gp96 scFv fragment was expressed in Pichia pastoris to obtain a small molecule antibody that specifically recognizes heat shock protein gp96. The gp96-scFv fragment gene was synthesized and cloned to Pichia pastoris expression plasmid pPICZa-A. Pichia pastoris X33 was electroporated with the linearized recombinant expression vector, and expression of gp96-scFv fragment was induced by methanol. The His-tagged recombinant protein was then purified by affinity chromatography and analyzed with SDS-PAGE and Western blotting assays. The biological activities of recombinant gp96-scFv fragment were determined by Western blotting, Immunofluorescence, ELISA and FACS assays. The gp96-scFv fragment was expressed successfully in Pichia pastoris. About 50 mg of recombinant protein could be purified from 1 liter of the Pichia pastoris culture supernatant. Its molecular weight was about 15 kDa. The gp96-scFv fragment could specifically bind to gp96 protein by Western blotting, immunofluorescence, ELISA and FACS analyses. Pichia pastoris-expressed gp96-scFv fragment specifically recognizes gp96 protein, which could be used for Western blotting, Immunofluorescence, ELISA and FACS analyses.
Blotting, Western ; Chromatography, Affinity ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; immunology ; Pichia ; metabolism ; Plasmids ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Single-Chain Antibodies ; biosynthesis

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect and safety of Zedoary Turmeric Oil (ZTO)-eluting stents for post-coronary stenting restenosis prevention and treatment in the experimental dogs.

METHODSBare stents, stents coated with polybutyl methacrylate/Nano silica, and stents eluted with 100 microg ZTO were randomly deployed in canine anterior descending or circumflex coronary artery. Four weeks after stent implantation, the dogs were sacrificed and the vascular histomorphologic changes in the stenting segment analyzed.

RESULTSThickened intima could be seen under light microscope in the bare or coated stents, but thinner in ZTO-duting stent, with no sub-intimal hemorrhage, medial or adventitial necrosis, wall adhesive thrombus, or infiltration of inflammatory cells. Scanning electric microscopy showed the intima was intact. Histomorphologic analysis showed that the thickness and area of neo-intima, and the lumen stenosis percent in artery stented with ZTO eluting stents were significantly lower than those stented with bare or coated stents (P <0.01), and thus the lumen cavity was expanded (P < 0.01), while no statistic significant difference between polymer and bare stents was found (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONZTO-eluting stent is available and safe, and it could significantly inhibit the growth of neo-intimal in canine coronary mode after stenting, showing a restenosis preventive and treatment effect.

Animals ; Coronary Restenosis ; drug therapy ; prevention & control ; Curcuma ; chemistry ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dogs ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Plant Extracts ; administration & dosage ; Plant Oils ; administration & dosage ; Random Allocation

AIMTo investigate the mechanism through which insulin affect the learning and memory abilities of the Alzheimer's disease-like rats.

METHODSOkadaic acid (OA) was injected into the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus and the insulin was injected into the lateral cerebral ventricle of the rats. The learning and memory abilities of the rats were assessed through Morriswater maze behavioral test, and the expressions of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and GFAP were observed by Westem blotting and immunohistochemistry, respectively.

RESULTSCompared with the control rats, the abilities of learning and memory were lowered significantly (P < 0.01) and the expressions of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors were decreased and the GFAP positive astrocytes were increased greatly in the model rats (P < 0.05). In the rats injected with insulin, it was found that their learning and memory abilities were improved significantly (P < 0.01) and that the expression of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors were increased and GFAP positive astrocytes were decreased obviously (P < 0.05), as compared with the model rats.

CONCLUSIONInsulin is able to enhance the learning and memory abilities of the Alzheimer's disease-like rats, possibly by improving the function of the acetylcholine system and decreasing the astrocytes proliferation in the brain.

Alzheimer Disease ; physiopathology ; Animals ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein ; metabolism ; Insulin ; pharmacology ; Learning ; drug effects ; Male ; Memory ; drug effects ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, Nicotinic ; metabolism

Aged ; Atrial Flutter ; surgery ; Catheter Ablation ; adverse effects ; methods ; Cryosurgery ; adverse effects ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged