Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),one of the most common malignant tumors,is the main cause of cancer death in China.Early diagnosis of the disease is of great importance.Serum tumor markers have been effective for detecting HCC for a long time.Among those markers,alpha fetoprotein(AFP)is the most widely used one in detecting patients with HCC,but it has limited utility for detecting HCC due to its limited sensitivity and specificity.Searching better markers for HCC has been a re- search focus in recent years.This review introduces many useful markers to supplement AFP for detecting HCC.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor, which can be ac-tivated by the binding of exogenous atyl hydrocarbon chemicals, then increase many metabolic enzymes and their activity, and oncogenic products of metabolism increase, ultimately resulting in occurrence of tumor. Herein, we mainly review the fundamental concept of AHR and its relationship with tumor.

Objective To explore the influence of homocysteine(Hcy)on liver cystathionine-?-synthase(CBS)and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase(MTHFR)system in apoE-/- mice,and determine the effects of atorvastatin and/or folate/vitamin B12 on liver CBS and MTHFR system.Methods Eighty male 6-week-old apoE-/- mice were randomly divided into two groups:65 mice were fed with a chow diet containing 2%(wt/vol)L-methionine(homomethionine group)and 15 mice were fed with normal saline(control group).Two months later,the 60 mice survived in homomethionine group were subdivided into four groups:group Ⅰ(untreated),Ⅱ(3 mg/kg atorvastatin),Ⅲ(3 mg/kg atorvastatin+2 mg/kg folate+30 ?g/kg vitamin B12)and Ⅳ(2 mg/kg folate+30 ?g/kg vitamin B12).After one month,Western blotting was performed to detect the liver CBS and MTHFR system protein expression in each group.Results The relative expression of liver CBS and MTHFR was significantly lower in group Ⅰ than in control group(P

Cochlear Implants ; Congresses as Topic ; Hearing ; Hearing Aids ; Humans

Female ; Humans ; Labyrinth Diseases ; Middle Aged ; Semicircular Canals ; Syndrome

Objective We examined the in vivo effect of the antisense or/and decoy oligonucleotide of nuclear factor-?appa B (NF-?B) on balloon-injured smooth muscle cell proliferation and MMP-9 in the carotid artery of rats. Methods Sprague-Dawley rats underwent balloon-dilation injury of the left carotid artery. Rats were divided into 7 groups(n=18) and each group included 6 time points (6 h and 1,3,5,7,14 d)(n=3). Results The mean intima/media ratio increased significantly in sense group、scramble group and model group and reached the maximum at 7 d after rat injured carotid artery, compared with normal group, antisense group, decoy group and decoy plus antisense group(P

Objective To investigate whether homocysteine(Hcy) induces apoptosis of endothelial cells via a pathway involving caspases3 and whether simvastatin antagonizes the proapoptotic effects of Hcy by regulating c-IAP. Methods Human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC) were treated with Hcy,with or without simvastatin,for 24 h.Cell apoptosis was evaluated by Annexin V staining and flow cytometery,as well as TUNEL.The mRNA and protein levels of caspase3,c-IAP-1 and c-IAP-2 were analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blot,respectively. Results Treatment with both low(0.5 mmol/L) and high(3.0 mmol/L) concentrations of Hcy-induced HUVEC apoptosis was accompanied by an increased level of caspase3 expression and activation,together with decreased c-IAP-1 and c-IAP-2 level.Simvastatin upregulated c-IAP-1 and c-IAP-2 expression while attenuated Hcy-induced apoptosis and caspase3 activation. Conclusion Hcy may induce HUVEC apoptosis via a pathway involving caspase3,which can be partially antagonized by simvastatin,possibly through upregulated c-IAP-1 and c-IAP-2 expression.

BACKGROUND: H-type vessels are mainly distributed in the metaphysis, which can promote the proliferation of osteocytes, further accelerating osteogenesis.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of H-type vessels in the subchondral bone during the occurrence and development of osteoarthritis.METHODS: 8-week-old C57 mice were randomly divided into experimental and sham groups, followed by the right medial menisectomy to establish the osteoarthritis models or only articular capsulotomy. The knee samples were removed at 4 weeks postoperatively, and were stained with safranin-O-fast green to evaluate the degree of injury. The expression levels of CD31, Emcn and matrix metalloproteinase 13 were detected by immunofluorescent staining. The changes of the subchondral bone were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and the changes of bone mass in the subchondral bone were analyzed by micro-CT.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Compared with the sham group, the Osteoarthritis Research Society International scores, expression levels of CD31, Emcn, H-type vessels and matrix metalloproteinase 13, as well as the bone mass in the subchondral bone were significantly increased in the experimental group (P < 0.05). To conclude, the increased H-type vessels in the subchondral bone promote the hyperplasia and remodeling of subchondral bone in the progression of osteoarthritis.

Response Surface Methodology was applied to optimize the culture components for lipopeptide production by Bacillus natto TK-1. In the first step, two level factorial design of Plackett-Burman was used to evaluate the influence of six related factors. It showed that three factors playing the important roles in the medium, including peptone, yeast extract powder and CaCl_2. The path of steepest ascent was used to approach the optimal region of the fermentation conditions subsequently. In the third step, the concentrations of those three main factors were further optimized by using Box-Behnken and Response Surface Analysis. By solving the quadratic regression model equation, the optimal concentrations of the variables were determined as: peptone 1.73%, yeast extract powder 0.063 %, CaCl_2 1.385?10-4mol/L. Under the optimal culture conditions, the diameter of haemolysis zone increased 29.3 % than before. HPLC analysis showed the precise production of lipopeptide was 30.2% higher than preliminary culture. Furthermore, at three batches cultivation, the experiment values under the optimal conditions agreed with the predictive values. It showed that Response Surface Methodology was proper and a good choice for optimization.

Fermentation for Eicosapentaenoic Acid(EPA) production by Nitzschia laevis at various temperature between 10℃ and 30℃ was investigated and the dynamics characteristics during fermentation process were also analyzed.Based on the results,a varying temperature nursing method of two stage control strategy is proposed:During the first stage,which comprises the delay phase and the initial index phase,the temperature is maintained at 25℃;then the temperature is shifted to 20℃ and kept up till the end of the fermentation process.By this method,a EPA content of 6.0% and a yield of 291.60 mg/L have been gained.These are 24.07% and 18.81% higher than that of fixed temperature(25℃) fermentation,respectively.