Toxoplasma gondii is an apicomplexan zoonotic protozoan parasite that infects most species of warm-blooded animals, including humans. The heavy incidence and severe or lethal damage caused by T. gondii infection clearly indicate a need for the development of an effective vaccine. T. gondii GRA8 is a member of the dense granules protein family and is used as a marker of acute infection. In the present study, we evaluated the protective immunity induced by DNA vaccination based on a recombinant eukaryotic plasmid, pDsRed2-GRA8, against acute toxoplasmosis in mice. BALB/c mice were intramuscularly immunized with the pDsRed2-GRA8 plasmid and then challenged by infection with the highly virulent GFP-RH strain of T. gondii. The specific immune responses and protective efficacy against T. gondii of this vaccine were analyzed by measuring cytokine and serum antibody titers, splenocyte proliferation assays, and the survival times of mice after challenge. Our results showed that mice immunized with pDsRed2-GRA8 demonstrated specific humoral and cellular responses, induced higher IgG antibody titers with predominant IgG2a production; increased levels of IL-10, IL-12 (p70), IFN-γ, TNF-α, and splenocyte proliferation; and prolonged survival times compared to those of control mice. The present study showed that DNA immunization with pDsRed2-GRA8 induced humoral and cellular immune responses, and all immunized mice showed greater Th1-type immune responses and longer survival times than those of control mice. These results indicated that T. gondii GRA8 DNA immunization induces a partial protective effect against acute toxoplasmosis.
Animals ; DNA ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunization ; Immunoglobulin G ; Incidence ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-12 ; Mice ; Parasites ; Plasmids ; Toxoplasma ; Toxoplasmosis ; Vaccination

Objective:To investigate the changes of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in pancreatic cancer cells under the effect of pulsed electric fields (PEF).Methods:Murine-derived pancreatic cancer cells Panc02 were treated with PEF at electric field strengths of 0, 250, 500, 750, and 1 000 V/cm, respectively. The intracellular ROS generation patterns under the different field strengths and at different times after the PEF were investigated in vitro by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence, meanwhile exploring the apoptosis of murine and human pancreatic cancer cells under different field strengths. Twenty 6- to 8-week-old male C57BL/6 SPF mice were prepared as orthotopic pancreatic cancer models and divided into five groups of four mice each: 250 V/cm PEF group, 500 V/cm PEF group, 750 V/cm PEF group, 1 000 V/cm PEF group, and sham operation group. ROS expression in the residual tumor tissues of mice in each group was detected by immunofluorescence.Results:Under the 500 V/cm, 750 V/cm and 1 000 V/cm electric field strength, the proportion of cells with intracellular ROS expression was decreased after 6 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h of the PEF compared with 2 h after the PEF, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Compared with 0 V/cm PEF group, ROS expression increased in Panc02 cells treated with 500 V/cm and 750 V/cm PEF groups, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Compared with 250 V/cm PEF group under the same time, ROS in Panc02 cells treated with 500 V/cm and 750 V/cm electric field strengths increased, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). The proportions of apoptosis of both Panc02 cells and MIA-PaCa-2 cells increased with rising field strength and peaked at the field strength of 750 V/cm. Compared with the sham-operated group, the expression of ROS was increased in pancreatic cancer tissues of mice in the 500 V/cm PEF-treated group (16.65±6.01 vs. 2.38±1.21, t=-6.53) and 750 V/cm PEF-treated group (16.54±4.41 vs. 2.38±1.21, t=-6.48), and the differences were statistically significant in both cases (both P<0.001). Conclusion:PEF treatment was able to increase the level of ROS in both pancreatic cancer cells and tissues, and more ROS were produced when the electric field strength was 500 and 750 V/cm.

Aging is the most basic life feature of organisms. It is a phenomenon of dysfunction of cells,tissues and organs under the influence of external environment and internal factors during the growth of organisms. During the process,many cellular signaling pathways and biologically active substances,such as insulin/insulin-like growth factor( IGF)-1 signaling( IIS) pathway,apoptotic signaling pathway,mTOR signaling pathway,AMPK pathway,sirtuin pathway,deacetylases have been found to be closely related to the molecular mechanism of aging. Modern studies have indicated that anti-aging natural compounds can cause great side effects,while delaying aging and even inducing another disease,which is against with the purpose of delaying aging and achieving healthy aging. Therefore,the researches of anti-aging traditional Chinese medicines with fewer side effects are extremely important. Based on the different mechanisms and theories of aging,many traditional Chinese medicines have been discovered to be related to anti-aging. As one of the most important model organisms,Drosophila melanogaster has been widely used in studies of aging process in recent years. In this paper,we reviewed three important signaling pathways related to aging,such as insulin/insulin-like growth factor( IGF)-1 signaling( IIS) pathway,m TOR pathway,AMPK pathway,and screened out anti-aging traditional Chinese medicines based on D. melanogaster in recent years.
Aging ; Animals ; Drosophila melanogaster ; Insulin ; Longevity ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Signal Transduction

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is an emerging tissue ablation technique. Compared with thermal ablation technique such as radiofrequency, IRE can achieve focal ablation in a shorter time without heat sink effect while sparing the tissue scaffold. IRE has been demonstrated to be a feasible therapeutic modality for the liver, pancreatic, and prostatic cancer. In recent years, several studies regarding of catheter-directed IRE for digestive tract, bronchus, urinary tract, and myocardium have been performed, which preliminarily demonstrated the safety and efficacy of IRE for tissue ablation under endoscopic or interventional technique. This study summarized the research progress of catheter-directed IRE for tissue ablation. The critical technique and future direction of catheter-based IRE are prosp.
Catheter Ablation ; Catheters ; Electroporation ; Endoscopy ; Humans