OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of RCCS on cell seeding onto 3-D scaffold and cell-scaffold composite culture in vitro.

METHODSRabbit skin fibroblasts of passage 2 were seeded at 2 x 10(6) cell per cm(3) onto/into polyglycolic acid (PGA) foams by static seeding (dropping a cell suspension onto foams) or dynamic seeding (rotating PGA foams and a cell suspension in RCCS). Attachment of cells in foams was observed by cell-counting after trypsin digestion. The effects of culture condition were next studied by culturing cell-PGA complexes in RCCS versus static culture condition. Distribution and proliferation of cells in foams were investigated with MTT, stereomicroscope and scan electron microscope.

RESULTSNumbers of cells adhering to polymers increased gradually during an initial period of 24 hours. Eight, 12 and 24 hours after seeding, the rates of adhering cells were significantly higher in the dynamic seeding group than in the static seeding group (46.70% + 2.16% vs. 31.50% +/- 3.54%; 56.36% +/- 3.18% vs. 34.28% +/- 3.16%; 66.32% +/- 4.60% vs. 37.38% +/- 4.66%; P < 0.01). The dynamic culture method as compared to the static method resulted in new tissues with a higher cellularity and more uniform cell distribution during a 3 period of weeks.

CONCLUSIONSRCCS has advantages of promoting cell attachment, uniform migration and proliferation in polymer scaffolds and can be used for construction of 3-D cell-polymer tissues in vitro.

Animals ; Cell Adhesion ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cell Division ; Cell Movement ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; Polyglycolic Acid ; pharmacology ; Rabbits ; Time Factors

To obtain high-yield avilamycin-producing strains,low energy N~+ ion implantation technology and screening of streptomycin-re- sistant mutants are used in the study on breeding mutation.The results show that,“saddle”region,which range is from 3?10~(15) to 5?10~(15) ions/cm~2,has got better induced mutation action.It also means that the strain's resistant mutation and yield mutation closely correlate to each other,and the method of streptomycin resistant screening is feasible.We have isolated a high-yield strain SVT-45 which the productivi- ty is 195% higher than the original strain's in the rotation-flask experiments.These results showed that the ion implantation was an effective method for microbe mutagensis.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the ability of human dendritic cells (DCs) inducing specific T lymphocyte response and inhibit the expression of HBeAg and HBsAg in 2.2.15 cell culture supernatant.

METHODSDCs were prepared from peripheral blood mononuclear cells induced with granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor(GM-CSF) and interleukin 4. DCs was impulsed with pure HBsAg before DCs maturation and cocultured with self-blood T lymphocyte, while DCs without pure HBsAg stimulated group, T lymphocyte group and only T lymphocyte group were prepared as control group. The culture supernatant of 2.2.15 cell with stimulated T lymphocytes was collected on day 1, day 3, day 5 and day 7, respectively. The expressed levels of HBeAg and HBsAg were detected by ELISA method.

RESULTSDCs after antigen stimulation had a strong ability to present antigen and induce immune activation, DCs after loading with antigen in normal control and chronic hepatitis patients group had stronger stimulative ability for T lymphocytes proliferation than that of DCs without loading with antigen and only T lymphocyte group(P less than 0.01). The stimulating ability of DCs had a positive correlation to the dosage of loaded antigen; CTLs produced as a result of DCs stimulation had a specific inhibitive effect on the expression of HBeAg in 2.2.15 cell supernatant,but not on the expression of HbsAg.

CONCLUSIONHuman dendritic cells stimulated with HBsAg in vitro can efficiently present antigen and stimulate the production of specific CTLs to HBV, which can efficiently inhibit the expression of HBeAg in 2.2.15 cell supernatant- DC vaccine may become an antiviral therapy strategy for chronic hepatitis B virus infected patients in future.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Antigen Presentation ; Cells, Cultured ; Child ; Dendritic Cells ; drug effects ; immunology ; Female ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; pharmacology ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; immunology ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Activation ; Male ; Middle Aged

Aged ; Biopsy, Needle ; methods ; Coal Mining ; Humans ; Lung ; pathology ; Lung Neoplasms ; complications ; diagnosis ; Middle Aged ; Pneumoconiosis ; complications

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Concanavalin A ; toxicity ; Liver ; drug effects ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide ; biosynthesis ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; biosynthesis

OBJECTIVETo identify a novel human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele in Chinese and investigate its inheritance in the family.

METHODSExceptional reaction pattern was detected in HLA-B locus in HLA typing using Luminex DNA polymerase chain reaction with sequence specific oligonucleotide probe hybridization (PCR-SSOP) assay. A confirmatory test for the novel HLA allele was performed by DNA sequencing based typing of the proband's family.

RESULTSThe DNA sequence was confirmed to be a novel HLA B allele. There were 7 nucleotides which differed from the closest matching HLA B*40:06:01 at positions 302(G to A), 309(G to C), 311(A to C), 313(C to G), 314(T to C), 317(G to T), and 319(G to C) in exon 2, which resulted in 5 amino acid changes at codon 101 (Ser to Asn), 104 (Asn to Thr), 105 (Leu to Ala), 106 (Arg to Leu), and 107 (Gly to Arg), respectively. Family investigation indicated that the novel allele was transmitted from the proband's father.

CONCLUSIONA novel HLA B allele was identified and officially named as HLA-B*40:96 (GenBank accession No. FJ374890) by the WHO Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System.

Alleles ; Base Sequence ; Female ; HLA-B Antigens ; genetics ; Haplotypes ; Histocompatibility Testing ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Pedigree ; Sequence Alignment

A filtering algorithm is proposed to deal with the medical ultrasonic image series in video format, which uses the relativity in spatial domain, gray value domain and temporal domain simultaneously. For each frame image, the relativity in spatial domain and gray value domain is utilized to construct the adaptive neighborhood first. Then the spatial weighted and gray value weighted filtering is performed in this neighborhood. Finally, the temporal relativity between the adjacent frames is used to perform the temporal weighted filtering. All the weighted filtering in the three domains uses Gaussian kernel, thus the filtering sensitivity resulting from the threshold selection is reduced, and the stability of the algorithm is enhanced. As it can be seen from the experimental results, the three-domains filtering algorithm can suppress the noise effectively, and the edge details can be reserved well. So it is useful for the feature extraction, recognition and analysis.
Algorithms ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; methods ; Ultrasonography ; methods

MicroRNAs are negative regulators of mRNA, and latest studies show that "mRNAs can also inhibit microRNAs". With these reciprocal interactions, different mRNAs with identical "microRNA binding site" cim regulate each other by competitively binding to the same microRNA pool. This is the novel competing endogenous RNA (ceRN A)regulating mechanism. The ceRN A mechanism, which is a totally new regulating mechanism , greatly expands the regulatory network across genes. It has been proved by experimental evidence that, in HCT116 colon cancer cells,KRAS and PTEN , ZEB2 and PTEN can regulate each other by ceRNA mechanism.
Colorectal Neoplasms ; genetics ; HCT116 Cells ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; PTEN Phosphohydrolase ; RNA, Messenger

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expressions of glypican-3 (GPC3) mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and peripheral blood cells (PBCs), and to determine the values of GPC3 mRNA in the diagnosis of HCC and HCC micrometastasis.

METHODSUsing semi-quantitative and nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR), we detected the expressions of AFP and GPC3 genes in the tissues of 41 HCC, 41 paracancer and 52 non-HCC liver samples (41 far from HCC tissues and 11 normal liver tissues), and in the PBCs of 67 specimens from subjects.

RESULTSThe semi-quantitative RT-PCR displayed GPC3 mRNA was expressed in all samples of tissues and PBCs, and the relative intensities of its expressions in HCC, paracancer, non-HCC liver tissues were 78.9 +/- 35.5, 30.6 +/- 21.6, 23.8 +/- 15.5 respectively. The AFP mRNA expression values were 61.2 +/- 32.6, 31.5 +/- 23.6, and 21.2 +/- 15.9 respectively. The expression of each gene in HCC differed significantly from those in other two kinds of tissue samples (P < 0.01). The expressions of GPC3 mRNA and AFP mRNA, accounting for 80.5% and 63.4% in all the HCC tissues, were higher than their respective peak values in the tissues of non-HCC liver (+1.96s), but the expressions of at least one of the two genes was elevated in 92.7% of all the HCC tissues. There was a significant difference between combined detection of two genes and single AFP mRNA detection in HCC tissues (P < 0.01). Clinicopathologically, AFP mRNA was related with the grade of HCC and serum AFP, while GPC3 mRNA was related with not only the grade of HCC but also the invasion of HCC. The relative intensities of GPC3 mRNA expressions in PBCs of 67 specimens was 15.9 +/- 9.0, and GPC3 mRNA expressed in three kinds of tissue samples were all stronger than its counterparts in PBCs (P < 0.01). The GPC3 mRNA expression values in PBCs of the HCC group and the non-HCC group were respectively 16.1 +/- 8.3, 15.6 +/- 10.2, there was no significant difference between the two groups. Of the HCC metastasis group and the HCC non-metastasis group, the respective GPC3 mRNA expression values in PBCs were 16.0 +/- 9.0 and 16.3 +/- 7.7, there was also no significant difference between the two groups. The nested RT-PCR showed that the positive rates of AFP mRNA expressions in PBCs from the HCC group and the non-HCC group were 56.1% and 23.1%, and the difference between the two groups was significant (P = 0.011). The positive rates of AFP mRNA expressions in PBCs from the HCC metastasis group and the HCC non-metastasis group were 80.9% and 30.0%, and there was also a significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONSAlthough GPC3 mRNA is expressed broadly, it still may serve as a potential tissue biomarker in the diagnosis of HCC. Detecting the expression of the two genes in the tissues will improve the screening and diagnosis of HCC. GPC3 is prevalently transcribed in the PBCs, but we have not found any relationship between the GPC3 expression in PBCs and the metastasis or recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma, thus we can not identify HCC micrometastasis with GPC3 mRNA.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Glypicans ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; alpha-Fetoproteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo study the feasibility of osteogenic phenotype expression by human skin fibroblasts induced in polyglycolic acid (PGA) foams and the effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on the expression of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) receptors.

METHODSThe fibroblasts were isolated, purified from human skin. (1) Fibroblasts were seeded onto PGA foams. The cell-PGA complexes were cultured in RCCS for 6 weeks, in the media of TNF-alpha (50 U/ml) and BMP-2 (0.1 microg/ml). 1 d, 3 and 6 weeks later, cells and extracellular matrix were investigated by electron microscopic and histochemistry observation respectively. Secretion of osteogenic markers were analyzed by biochemical methods. (2) Fibroblasts were seeded on the glass fragments or culture flasks and treated with TNF-alpha (50 U/ml) in different usage (one-time, all-time). The RT-PCR method and the immunohistochemistry fluorescence staining were used to examine the influence of TNF-alpha on the mRNA expression and the protein expression of the type I BMP receptors at 2, 4, 6, 8 d after treatment.

RESULTSFibroblasts seeded on the PGA foams formed 3-dimensional matrix 3 weeks after seeding, which was demonstrated as osteo-tissue by tetracycline labeling and ARS staining. Cells secreted much more bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (B-AKP) and osteocalcin (OCN) into supernatant than the cells that were cultured in the media without TNF-a and BMP2. Eight days after all-time usage, the TNF-alpha (50 U/ml) increased the expression of the mRNA and protein of the type IB BMP receptor.

CONCLUSIONSFibroblasts on 3-D cell-foam structures can express osteoblastic phenotype under certain inducing conditions. The numerous fibroblasts in body would be a promising resource for cell seeds candidate of tissue- engineered bone. TNF-alpha provides the essential condition for BMP2's target effect on fibroblasts, and combined use of TNF-alpha and BMP2 is one of the regulating factors.

Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein Receptors, Type I ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein Receptors, Type II ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins ; pharmacology ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Drug Synergism ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Phenotype ; Polyglycolic Acid ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; pharmacology ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; pharmacology