Purpose To investigate the expression of Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 in prostate cancer ( PCa) and benign prostatic hyperplasia ( BPH) , and to analyze their correlation with clinicopathological parameters of PCa. Methods Immunohistochemistry was used to de-tect Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 protein in 45 cases of PCa and 60 cases of BPH. Results The positive rate of Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 in PCa tissues was significantly lower than that in BPH (P<0. 05). The expression of Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 was not correlated with the age of patients and distant metastasis (P>0. 05), but it was correlated with the pathological grade and clinical stage of PCa (P<0. 05). Conclusion Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 are lowly expressed in PCa. There is positive correlation between the expression of Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 (rs =0. 645, P<0. 01). Apaf-1 and Caspase-9 might be correlated with the carcinogenesis and development of PCa.

Objective To investigate the value of CT scans in differential diagnosis of thyroid neoplasm.Methods CT findings ofthyroid neoplasm in 29 cases including 8 cases thyroid adenoma,4 cases nodular goiter and 17 cases thyroid carcinoma identified by operation and pathology were analyzed retrospectively.Results The contour of thyroid adenoma was distinct,a completely enhanced ring in 5 cases and enhanced nodules in 3 cases were showed on contrast-enhanced scan.4 cases of nodular goiter showed homogenous cystic low density the lesions were localized and distinct in contour,the cystic wall could be seen.Thyroid carcinoma appeared unhomogenous density,the edges contour of lesion was not distinct and infiltration on adjacent tissue might be seen.Conclusion CT scan might play an important role in diagnosis and differential diagnosis of thyroid neoplasm.

Objective To investigate the animal model of acute lung injury (ALI) induced by caudal vein injection of trypsin in rats and to evaluate the model.Methods The model of lung injury was established by caudal vein injection of trypsin in rats.The rats were killed at the time point of 3 h,6 h,12 h,24 h,and 24 h and then the pathological changes of structure of lungs,peripheral blood neutrophil count,arterial blood gas analysis and lung wet/dry (W/D) weight ratio in rats were measured and observed.Results The results of hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining showed that there was no obvious pathological changes in lung tissues of the control group,while alveolar and pulmonary septal edema,thickening,and a large number of inflammatory cells infiltration in the lung tissues of the model group.Compared to the control group,the peripheral blood neutrophil counts,W/D and PaCO2 were significantly increased,PaO2 was significantly decreased (P ＜0.01).There was significant differences in the number of peripheral blood neutrophils,PaCO2,W/D and PaO2 between the model groups (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The rat model of ALI induced by trypsin can successfully simulate the lung damage caused by the release of a large number of trypsin when severe acute pancreatitis occurred.

Objective:To assess the effect of rosiglitazone on inflammation in peritoneal dialysis patients. Methods:Fifty patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis were collected in our hospital. The treatment group was assigned to receive regular peritoneal dialysis and rosiglitazone 4mg once daily while the control group was received regular peritoneal dialysis for 12 weeks. Such serum examinations as fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycosylated hemoglobin A1c, haemoglobin, serum total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides and high sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured, tumor necrosis factorα(TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were measured by ELISA, and homeostasis model as-sessment of insulin resistance( HOMA-IR) was also evaluated before and after the treatment. Results:After the 12-week treatment by rosiglitazone, the levels of FPG, HOMA-IR, hs-CRP, TNF-αand IL-6 were declined significantly(P<0. 05), and the level of HDL-C was increased significantly(P<0. 05). Conclusion: Rosiglitazone shows significant anti-inflammatory, insulin resistance improve-ment and anti-lipidemic effects in peritoneal dialysis patients.

Objective:To evaluate the value of pretreatment 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT-based heterogeneity for early prediction of targeted therapy outcome in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive metastatic breast cancer. Methods:From May 2012 to April 2018, 29 patients (all females, median age: 52 (32-69) years) who had HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer and underwent pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were retrospectively enrolled. All patients received trastuzumab as first-line treatment and were followed up for 6-87 (median time: 35) months. The relations between clinicopathologic parameters or PET/CT-based parameters and progression-free survival (PFS)/overall survival (OS) were analyzed with Cox univariate analysis. The parameters with P≤0.01 were further analyzed with Cox multivariate analysis. Optimal cut-off values were determined by time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The survival analyses were estimated by Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Results:The median OS of the 29 patients was 30 (6-83) months, and the median PFS was 10 (2-29) months. The PET/CT-based heterogeneity index(HI), including the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max) ratio (SUV max-R; hazard ratio ( HR)=8.6, 95% CI: 2.7-27.8, P<0.001), the mean standardized uptake value (SUV mean)-2.5 (the cut-off value of standardized uptake value (SUV)=2.5) ratio (SUV mean-2.5-R; HR=2.6, 95% CI: 1.2-5.9, P=0.020), the metabolic tumor volume(MTV)-2.5 ratio(MTV-2.5-R; HR=2.4, 95% CI: 1.1-5.2, P=0.030), and the total lesion glycolysis(TLG)-2.5 ratio(TLG-2.5-R; HR=3.2, 95% CI: 1.4-7.4, P=0.008) of the lesion with the highest SUV max to that with the lowest SUV max, were significantly associated with PFS. None of the parameters was significantly associated with OS (all P>0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that the SUV max-R was the only independent predictor for PFS ( HR=6.8, 95% CI: 1.8-26.1, P<0.01). Area under the ROC curve for SUV max-R was 0.747. With a cut-off value of 1.8, SUV max-R could effectively distinguish the benefit from non-benefit population treated with trastuzumab (15.0 vs 7.0 months; χ2=18.68, P<0.01). Conclusion:Pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT-based HI has potential value for early prediction of first-line trastuzumab treatment outcome in patients with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer.

Objective To investigate the effect of simulated microgravity on growth , morphology, protein expression and virulence gene expression of Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPN).Methods KPN was divided into simulated microgravity group and control group in the experiment .The former group was in the ambient of simulated microgravity in a clinostat .The bacterial growth curves , morphologyical changes in electron microscopy , and protein expression were detected by SELDI-TOF-MS, and the expression of 4 virulence genes(ureA,wabG,uge and fimH) by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-PCR) in both groups.Results Compared with the control group , the growth of KPN under simulated microgravity was accelerated , and the total bacterial count increased in microgravity group .The bacterial morphology in microgravity group was changed under scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thinner and longer bacteria were increased .The transmission electron microscopy ( TEM) analysis revealed increase in cytoplasmic granular substance in microgravity group .Proteome analysis showed that the expression of 18 proteins was changed , half of which up-regulated and the rest were down-regula-ted.Those 18 proteins were searched in the protein library .And 21 proteins of a similar molecular mass were retrieved ,13 of which,proteins with known functions ,were closely related to bacterial life activities .RT-PCR results showed that four virulence genes of KPN were down-regulated.Conclusion Upon exposure to simulated microgravity , the growth and repro-duction of KPN are accelerated and enhanced .The bacterial morphology is changed .The strain′s protein expression and four virulence genes expressionare also changed .Therefore,microgravity can change the characteristics of KPN .

Background and purpose:In preparation for using this tracer in humans, this study estimated thedosimetry of18F-FES with the method established by MIRD based on whole-body PET imaging of mice.Methods:Three female mice receivedⅣ tail injections of18F-FES and were scanned for 160 min in an Inveon dedicated PET/CT scanner. This study selected some important organs (brain, lung, liver, heart wall, small intestine, large intestine, kidney and urinary bladder), computed their residence times. Then, the residence times in mice organs were converted to human values using scale factors based on differences between organ and body weights. OLINDA/EXM 1.1 software was used to compute the absorbed human doses in multiple organs for both adult female and adult male body phantoms. Results:The highest absorbed doses in gallbladder wall, urinary bladder wall, small intestine, upper large intestine and liver are 0.072 5, 0.044 5, 0.043 0, 0.031 5 and 0.028 2 mGy/MBq, respectively. The organs which have the lowest ab-sorbed doses were brain (0.005 2 mGy/MBq), followed by skin (0.001 1 mGy/MBq), breast (0.001 1 mGy/MBq), heart wall (0.001 2 mGy/MBq) and thyroid (0.001 2 mGy/MBq). The mean absorbed doses for the other major organs ranged from 0.009 5 to 0.023 5 mGy/MBq. The total mean effective dose is 0.019 0 mSv/MBq and the mean effective doses equivalent is 0.025 0 mGy/MBq. A 370-MBq injection of18F-FES leads to an estimated effective dose of 7.03 mSv for the female. There was no statistical difference in the doses results obtained from direct measurement of18F-FES ab-sorption in normal people between previous publications by others and our work.Conclusion:The whole-body mouse imaging can be used as a preclinical tool for initial estimation of the absorbed doses of18F-FES in humans. Furthermore, the potential radiation risk associated with18F-FES imaging is well within the accepted limits.

Objective To study the effect of osgentide (OST) on proliferation of mouse preosteoblast MC3T3-E1 under simulated microgravity ( SMG ) .Methods Under normal conditions , cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay to screen an OST compound of an effective concentration after MC 3T3-E1 cells were treated with series OSTs .Furthermore, cell proliferation and cell cycle distribution of MC 3T3-E1 cells were analyzed after treatment with 1 nmol/L OST5 by MTT assay and by flow cytometry ( FCM) scanning under SMG .Results Under normal conditions , 1 nmol/L OST5 was able to significantly promote the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells (P<0.01).Under SMG, proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells was significantly inhibited and more cells entered G 1 than under normal conditions (CN).The proportion of S phase of MC3T3-E1 cells after treatment with 1 nmol/L OST5 ( OST-SMG) for 3 d was higher than that of untreated MC 3T3-E1 cells under SMG,suggesting that OST5 could promote DNA synthesis ( P<0.05 ) .Conclusion OST5 facilitates the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells under SMG, which provides a basis for the use of OST5 in the prevention and treatment of bone loss relat-ed to microgravity .

Objective To study the inhibitory effect of verapamil and nicardipine on human scar fibroblast in serum-free culture and to compare the effectness of the two drugs.Methods We used MTT method to detect the effect of two drugs on human scar fibroblast proliferation:adding verapamil and nicardipine with different concentrations in the culture of fibroblasts which were in logarithmic growth phase (150,100,50,10,0μmol/L).After 24,72,and 120 h,we used MTT method to detect the cell proliferation,and converted the absorbance into growth inhibitory ratio.Results Verapamil and nicardipine showed the definite inhibition on the hypertrophic scar fibroblast (HSFB) and keloid fibroblast (KDFB) which were cultured in vitro.There was some difference in the action feature.In the earlier period,the effect of verapamil was powerful than that of nicardipine.With time,the effect did not reinforce.When fibroblast had been cultured for three to five days,the inhibition became weak.But nicardipine showed lasting inhibition on fibroblast proliferation.Conclusion Combination of verapamil with nicardipine may be a valuable method in the treatment of scar.

Objective To investigate the effects of simulated microgravity by rotary cell culture system (RCCS) on expression profiles of miRNA in mouse fibroblasts L929 cell line.Methods L929 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into simulated microgravity (SMG) group and normal gravity (NG) group according to the simple random method.Samples of two groups were collected on 7th day of culture and the total RNAs were extracted,labeled,and hybridized in sequence.Feature Extraction Software was used to collect the array images and get raw data,which were analyzed by Genespring Software.Differentially expressed miRNAs were identified and then validated by qRT-PCR.Target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted by the databases of Targetscan and microRNAorg,and the intersections of databases were identified as potential regulatory target genes.Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis were applied to determine the roles of these target genes.Relevant biological functions and/or signaling pathways of the regulated genes especially related with wound healing process were categorized based on their enrichments.Then integration predictions of the miRNA and mRNA expression profiles had been proposed to refine the functional miRNA-mRNA relationships.The miRNA-mRNA functional network and miRNA-mRNA control network were constructed.Results Four miRNA genes were up-regulated significantly including mmumiR-669j,-122-5p,-30a-3p,-6516-3p,among which mmu-miR-669j was up-regulated at 52.84 folds with the greatest significance (P ＜ 0.05).Seventeen miRNA genes were down-regulated significantly including mmu-miR-21a-3p,-miR-28a-5p,-218-5p,-210-3p,-miR-19a-3p,-miR-31-3p,and-miR-19b-3p,among which mmu-miR-28a-5p was down-regulated at 15.47 folds with the greatest significance (P ＜ 0.05).The qRT-PCR showed a high concordance with the microarray results (P ＜ 0.05).Target gene prediction and functional enrichment analysis suggested that a variety of biological processes and signaling pathways involved in wound repair were significantly enriched (P ＜ 0.05).Function network and regulation network of miRNA-mRNA covered all the differentially expressed miRNAs,which suggested that miR-21 a-3p and predicted target gene Smad3 might play an important role in wound healing under microgravity.Conclusions Simulated microgravity by RCCS can significantly affect the expression of stress-related miRNAs in mouse fibroblasts L929.The miRNA target gene prediction and functional enrichment analysis based on gene chip technology may provide theoretical basis for illustrating the mechanism and management of weightlessness stress injury.