Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of Ghrelin on the contraction and relaxation of rat small intestinal smooth muscle. Methods The effect of different concentrations of Ghrelin (0;20;40;80 μg/kg) on the small intestinal transit in vagotomized rats in vivo and Ghrelin (0.01; 0.1;0.5 ; 1.0 μmol/L) on the contraction and relaxation of rat small intestinal smooth muscle strips in vitro was observed,the locations of Ghrelin receptors (GHS-R1 a) in small intestinal muscle layers were detected by immunofluorescency. Results Ghrelin dose-dependently increases small intestinal transit (( 25.4 ± 1.0)％,(33.7 ± 1.9)％,(39.3 ±2.4)％,(44.7 ±2.1)％),enhances the contraction ((67.0 ±2.4)％,(149.5 ±3.3)％,(187.1 ±4.7)％,(213.5 ±3.4)％) and relaxation ((35.3 ± 1.1)％,(62.9 ± 3.8 ) ％,( 79.6 ± 2.7 ) ％,( 94.6 ± 2.2 ) ％ ) of smooth muscle strips mediated by carbachol.Ghrelin receptors were mainly located on membrane of the nerve cells in the muscle layers,while no receptors exist on membrane of smooth muscle cells. Conclusions Ghrelin enhances the effect of contraction and relaxation of rat small intestinal smooth muscle mediated by cholinergic neurotransmitters activating nerve cells in the enteric plexus.

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) is a kind of stem cell with potential of self-repair and multi-differentiation. It may differentiate into neuron, adipose cell and osteoblasts.OBJECTIVE: To observe the transforming efficacy of human bone marrow mesencymal stem cells (hMSCs) into neurons in vitro in different generations so as to provide reliable experimental data for the clinical application of MSCs.DESIGN: Single sample was designed.SETTING: Department of Neurology, Sino-Japan Friendship Hospital,Jilin UniversityPARTICIPANTS: Marrow tissue was collected from 9 cases of spinal fusion in Department of Orthopedics of First Hospital affiliated to Jilin University. Of 9 cases, all of them were in known of the experiment.METHODS: The experiment was performed in Sino-Japan Hospital affiliated to Jilin University from September 2002 to February 2003. The primary and generative culture of hMSCs was given. Experimental and the control groups were divided.-mercaptoethanol was taken as inducer. hMSCs of the 2rd, 4th, 6th and 8th generations were selected for induction in vitro for 6 h. Cytochemistry staining and immunohistochemistry staining were used to assay the expressions of neuronal and astrocytic marked proteins.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① Growth curve analysis on genera tive culture of hMSCs. ② Nissel staining. ③ Immunohistochemical staining.RESULTS: ① Common characters of generative culture: The latent phase of generative culture was 12-24 hours, exponential phase was 7-10 days and 11-13 days later, cell culture entered the platform phase. ② After induction of the 2nd, 4th and 6th generated hMSCs, deep blue granular Nissl body presented in cytoplasm. In 6 hours on the 8th induction, there was no obvious deep blue Nissl structure presented in cytoplasm.③ Except GFAP, NSE and NF-M were expressed in hMSCs of different generations after induction for 6 hours. There was no significant difference in positive rates of the 2nd, 4th and 6th generations (P ＞ 0.05), but the significant difference presented in comparison between the 8th generation and the 2nd, 4thand 6th generations (P ＜ 0.05). CONCLUSION:-mercaptoethanol can induce hMSCs differentiating into neuronal cells in vitro. The positive rates of the 2nd, 4th and 6th generationsare higher remarkably than the 8th generation.

Objective To study the efficacy and toxicity of gensenoside-Rg3 (Rg3) combined with radiotherapy on non-small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC ) at advanced stages (Ⅲ and Ⅴ ).Methods Sixty-three patients with stage Ⅲ or Ⅳ NSCLC were divided randomly into two groups:treatment group ( n =35 ) treated with Rg3 combined with radiotherapy and control group ( n =28 ) treated with radiotherapy alone.The efficacy and side effects were compared after the treatment.Results The response rate ( CR + PR) of the treatment group was 57.14％,significantly higher than that of the control group (32.14％,x2 =3.91,P ＜ 0.05).The median survival time of the treatment group was 14.2 months,significantly longer than that of the control group ( 11.2 months,x2 =2.07,P ＜ 0.05 ).The one-year survival rate of the treatment group was 62.86％,significantly higher than that of the control group (39.29％,x2 =4.40,P ＜0.05).The incidence rates of side effects of the treatment group were all lower than those of the control group,but there were not significant difference. Conclusions Gensenoside-Rg3 combined with radiotherapy is effective for advanced stage NSCLC,with attenuation and synergistic effects.

OBJECTIVETo study the roles of matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor β-1 (TGFβ-1) in differentiation, invasiveness and metastatic potential of papillary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma of thyroid.

METHODSEighty-five cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma and 59 cases of follicular thyroid carcinoma were enrolled into the study. Immunohistochemistry using EnVision method was carried out for assessment of the expression of MMP-9, TIMP-1, VEGF and TGFβ-1 in the tumor tissue.

RESULTSMMP-9, TIMP-1, VEGF and TGFβ-1 were expressed in the cytoplasm of tumor cells. The positivity rates of MMP-9, TIMP-1, VEGF and TGFβ-1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma (83.5%, 81.2%, 90.6% and 75.3%, respectively) were similar to or lower than those in follicular thyroid carcinoma (93.2%, 86.4%, 89.9% and 78.0%, respectively). The expression rates in papillary thyroid carcinoma with lymph node metastasis were also higher than those in tumors without lymph node metastasis. The expression rates of MMP-9, VEGF and TGFβ-1 in poorly-differentiated follicular thyroid carcinoma were higher than those in well-differentiated follicular thyroid carcinoma. The expression of TIMP-1 however showed a negative correlation with the tumor cell differentiation. In general, the expression of VEGF and MMP-9 was higher than that of TIMP-1 and TGFβ-1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma and follicular thyroid carcinoma.

CONCLUSIONSImmunohistochemical detection of MMP-9, TIMP-1, VEGF and TGFβ-1 expression may carry clinical significance in evaluating the degree of differentiation, invasiveness, metastatic potential and prognosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma and follicular thyroid carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma, Follicular ; metabolism ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Differentiation ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism

Quality education and innovative ability cultivation of students are a new position in higher education.Exploring exper- iment was applied in teaching of microbiological experiment for enhancing integrative diathesis and cultivating innovative spirit and ability of students.The practice has been proved that learning fervor of students was increased adequately.Unaided operation abili- ty,integrative analysis ability and innovative idea were enhanced,too.Accordingly,teaching quality of microbiological experiment was improved.

Objective To investigate the effects of heat-killed Staphylococcus aureus (HKSA) on the apoptosis and expression of iNOS and IL-1β in THP-1 monocytes in the presence of high concentration of glucose.Methods THP-1 cells were cultured in medium containing 25.0 mmol/L(HG) or 5.5 mmol/L (LG,control) D-glucose for 12 h-8 d.The THP-1 cells cultured for 6 d were extracted on the 0-48 h with or without HKSA,then apoptosis and expression of iNOS and IL-1β were examined.Apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry and expressions of IL-1β and iNOS were quantitated by real-time PCR.Results The expression of iNOS and IL-1β in THP-1 monocytes was increased significantly in the presence of high concentration of glucose for 12-48 h(P＜0.05),reaching the highest level at 24 h and returned to baseline after 4 d.The expression was significantly lower than that of control after 4-6 d.Apoptosis rate was also increased significantly after 48 h to 4 days.HKSA infection enhanced apoptosis,but inhibited the expression of iNOS and IL-1 β in the presence of high concentration of glucose.The expression of iNOS and IL-1β increased significantly at 6 h(P＜0.01),reaching the highest level at 12 h,but the levels were significantly lower than those in control groups (P＜0.05).Conclusion These data suggest that high concentration of glucose can interfere with the anti-bacterial function of monocytes by reducing their expression of iNOS and IL-1β and enhancing their apoptosis.

Aim To evaluate the effects of pantoprazole on various experimental acute ulcer inrats and mice. Methods The model of a gastric ulcer of rats or mice was caused bystree- induced ulcer and ligatel pylurus-induced ulcer. Results & Conclusions At adose of 5, 10, 20 mg? kg-1 of Pantoprazole can markedly decrease the ulcer index ofstree-induced ulcer. Pantoprazole(4, 8, 16 mg? kg -1 ) significantly decrease the areaof ligated pylorus-induced gastric ulcer. It was also found that pantoprazole caninhibit the output of basic gastric acid.

Objective To investigate the relationship between carotid atherosclerotic plaque and multiple risk factors of angiocardiopathy,and to evaluate the injuries caused by different risk factors to subclinical target organ to control the general risk factors of angiocardiopathy.Methods Four hundred and twenty six outpatients and impatients,treated in our hospital from May 2007 to May 2009 with the results of color ultrasonic examination,were divided into carotid atherosclerotic plaque group(284 cases) and no carotid atherosclerotic plaque group( 142 cases).The clinical information including their age,body mass index,smoking condition,past medical history such as hypertension,diabetes mellitus and hyperlipoidemia were recorded,and the levels of total cholesterol(T C),high density lipoprotein cholesterol( HDL-C),low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),triglyceride (TG),lipoprotein ( a ) ( LP (a) ),apolipoprotein A - 1 ( Apo A 1 ),apolipoprotein B ( Apo B ),highsensitivity C-reactive protein( hs-CRP),homocysteine ( HCY),microalbuminuria( MAU ) and uricacid(UA) were determined by lab tests.The independent variable and univariable data were processed and analyzed statistically to find out the risk factors of carotid atherosclerotic plaque.Results Age and drinking were significantly correlated with the carotid intima-media wall thickening(IMT) (P ＜ 0.001 ).Overweight,diabetes mellitus,increased LP (a),hyperlipoidemia,age,increased MAU and HCY could independently predict carotid atherosclerosis and plaque formation ( x2 =71.35,38.45,t =3.26,x2 =37.23,t =118.51,6.723 and 3.17respectively,Ps ＜ 0.05 ).The aggregated number of the risk factors was correlated to IMT and carotid atherosclerotic plaque ( P =0.0001 ).Conclusion Age,drinking,overweight,diabetes mellitus,increased LP (a),hyperlipoidemia,MAU and HCY are risk factors of carotid atherosclerosis and plaque formation,and the contribution of each factor can multiply and overlap,more risk factors means greater risk.

BACKGROUNDIn vitro chondrocyte expansion is a major challenge in cell-based therapy for human articular cartilage repair. Classical culture conditions usually use animal serum as a medium supplement, which raises a number of undesirable questions. In the present study, two kinds of defined, serum-free media were developed to expand chondrocytes in monolayer culture for the purpose of cartilage tissue engineering.

METHODSBovine chondrocytes were expanded in serum-free media supplemented with fibroblast growth factor-2 and platelet-derived growth factor or fibroblast growth factor-2 and insulin-like growth factor. Expansion culture in a conventional 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) medium served as control. Fibronectin coating was used to help cell adhesion in serum-free medium. Next, in vitro three-dimensional pellet culture was used to evaluate the chondrocyte capacity. Cell pellets were expanded in different media to re-express the differentiated phenotype (re-differentiation) and to form cartilaginous tissue. The pellets were assessed by glycosaminoglycans contents, collagen II, collagen I and collagen X immunohistological staining.

RESULTSChondrocytes cultured in serum-free media showed no proliferation difference than cells grown with 10% FBS medium. In addition, chondrocytes expanded in both serum-free media expressed more differentiated phenotypes at the end of monolayer culture, as indicated by higher gene expression ratios of collagen type II to collagen type I. Pellets derived from chondrocytes cultured in both serum-free media displayed comparable chondrogenic capacities to pellets from cells expanded in 10% FBS medium.

CONCLUSIONThese findings provide alternative culture approaches for chondrocytes in vitro expansion, which may benefit the clinical use of autologous chondrocytes implantation.

Animals ; Cartilage, Articular ; cytology ; Cattle ; Cell Dedifferentiation ; Cells, Cultured ; Chondrocytes ; cytology ; physiology ; Culture Media, Serum-Free ; Fibronectins ; pharmacology ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; SOX9 Transcription Factor ; genetics

Electromagnetic Fields ; Magnetic Fields ; Microwaves ; adverse effects ; Television