Objective To study the effect of exogenous prostaglandin E 1 (PGE 1) on the superoxide dismutase(SOD) and nitric oxide(NO) levels in brain tissue of neonatal rats with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage(HIBD).Methods Sixty 7-day old newborn Wistar rats to establish HIBD models,intraperitoneally and subcutaneous injected PGE 1 and TMP,then the rats were killed after hypo- xia and ischemia for 48 hours.Take cerebral cortex of arteria carotis ligation side and made them into homogenate to detect SOD and NO levels in brain tissue.Results SOD level in HIBD group was lower,and NO level was higher than those of normal group(P

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Brain ; drug effects ; pathology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Estrogens ; pharmacology ; Female ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; drug therapy ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Congenital coronary sinus anomalies are extremely rare, and they have received relatively little attention. This is probably due to the lack of both clinical symptoms and significant cardiac functional disturbance. We present two cases of a coronary sinus anomaly and briefly review the literature. Recognizing and being familiar with the variations of a congenital coronary sinus anomaly in congenital heart disease may avoid a misinterpretation of cardiac catheterization findings and the troublesome disruption of coronary sinus blood return during the surgical management of cardiac lesions.
Coronary Sinus/*abnormalities/*radiography ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; *Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Clinical evidence of hematopoietic restoration with umbilical cord blood (UCB) grafts indicates the UCB can be a useful source of hematopoietic stem cells for routine bone marrow reconstitution. Considering (10 +/- 5) x 10(8) nucleared cells per cord blood unit, there is a potential limitation for the use of cord blood in adults, which, however, can be overcome by ex vivo expansion of cells. A prerequisite for expansion is the significantly higher recovery of MNC, CD34+ cells and colony-forming cells (CFC) by thawing cryopreserved MNC. Cooling rate always acts as a critical factor that can affect the recovery of cells. Although the rate of - 1 degrees C/min is adopted in most of the cryopreservations, no data has been reported about the detailed effects of different cooling rates. The aim of the study was to reveal the different effects of cooling rates on cryopreservation of hematopoietic stem cells from cord blood. UCB samples were collected, and cryopreserved as mononuclear cells (MNC) with different cooling rates of - 0.5 degrees C/min, - 1 degrees C/min, - 5 degrees C/min, and the recovery and viability of MNC and CD34+ cells, the clonogenic capacity and the ex vivo expansion potential of UCB progenitor cells were evaluated after thawing. With - 1 degrees C/min cooling rate, the recovery of MNC reached 93.3% +/- 1.8% , viability 95.0% +/- 3.9% , recovery of CD34+ cells 80.0% +/- 17.9% , and clonogenic recovery were 87.1% +/- 5.5%, 88.5% +/- 8.9%, 86.2% +/- 7.4% for BFU-E CFU-GM CFU-MK, respectively. After 14 days of liquid culture, no significant difference was detected in CFC expansion between fresh and cryopreserved MNC cells with - 1 degrees C/min cooling rate, but this was not the case with - 0.5 degreesC/min and - 5 degrees C/min. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that controlling the rate at - 1 degrees C/min is more suitable for cryopreservation of hematopoietic stem cells than - 0.5 degrees C/min and - 5 degrees C/min.
Cell Survival ; physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Cryopreservation ; methods ; Erythroid Precursor Cells ; cytology ; Fetal Blood ; cytology ; Flow Cytometry ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Progenitor Cells ; cytology ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; cytology ; Humans

Objective To investigate the frequency of CD4~+CD25~+FoxP3~+regulatory T cells (Treg)and the expression of the functional protein,FoxP3,in patients with active tuberculosis and the relationship between Treg and the pathogenesis of tuberculosis.Methods Forty-five patients with active tuberculosis(including 25 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis and 20 tuberculous lymphadenitis), 20 healthy controls,20 recovered tuberculosis patients and 6 patients with reactive hyperplasia in cer- vical lymph node were enrolled.The frequency of CD4~+ CD25~+ FoxP3~+ Treg in the peripheral blood was measured by flow cytometry.FoxP3 mRNA expression was determined by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)and the expression of FoxP3 protein in lymphoid tissues was measured by immunohistochemistry.Results The frequency of natural Treg in the peripheral blood from the patients with active tuberculosis was 2.91%?0.23%,which was signifi- cantly higher than that of healthy control group(1.22%?0.18%)and recovered tuberculosis patients(1.50%?0.17%,P

Objective A resistin binding peptide (RBP) was selected by phage display in our previous work. Studies had shown that RBP could antagonize the role of resistin on the lipid metabolism and endocrine function of adipose tissue, but whether RBP affects the insulin secretion of pancreatic cells is still unknown. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of RBP on basal insulin secretion in RINm5F insulinoma cells. Methods The cell viability was measured by 3-[4,5-dimethyhhiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetra-zolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assay. The supernatants were assayed for insulin content by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Reverse transcriptase-PCR assay and Western blotting were used to determine the expression of glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) involved in insulin secretion. Cytosolic Ca2+, the trigger of insulin exocytosis, was analyzed with the fluorescent probe FURA-3/AM. Results RBP did no effect on the cell viability with a concentration of 10-8-10-12mol/L of 2 hours intervention. But it stimulated basal insulin secretion of RINm5F cells, accompanied by up-regulated increased expression of GLUT2 and elevated concentration of cytosolic Ca2+. Conclusion RBP could stimulate basal insulin secretion without affecting the cell viability.

BACKGROUNDStudies of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-6 in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of asthmatic patients are limited. This study was to determine the effect of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment on IL-4 and IL-6 in the EBC of asthmatic patients.

METHODSIn a prospective, open-label study, budesonide 200 μg twice daily by dry powder inhaler was administered to 23 adult patients with uncontrolled asthma (mean age 42.7 years) for 12 weeks. Changes in asthma scores, lung function parameters (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1], peak expiratory flow [PEF], forced expiratory flow at 50% of forced vital capacity [FEF50], forced expiratory flow at 75% of forced vital capacity, maximum mid-expiratory flow rate) and the concentrations of IL-4 and IL-6 in EBC were measured.

RESULTSBoth asthma scores and lung function parameters were significantly improved by ICS treatment. The mean IL-4 concentration in the EBC was decreased gradually, from 1.92 ± 0.56 pmol/L before treatment to 1.60 ± 0.36 pmol/L after 8 weeks of treatment (P < 0.05) and 1.54 ± 0.81 pmol/L after 12 weeks of treatment (P < 0.01). However, the IL-6 concentration was not significantly decreased. The change in the IL-4 concentration was correlated with improvements in mean FEV1, PEF and FEF50 values (correlation coefficients -0.468, -0.478, and -0.426, respectively).

CONCLUSIONSThe concentration of IL-4 in the EBC of asthmatic patients decreased gradually with ICS treatment. Measurement of IL-4 in EBC could be useful to monitor airway inflammation in asthmatics.

Administration, Inhalation ; Adult ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; physiopathology ; Breath Tests ; Budesonide ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Interleukin-4 ; analysis ; Interleukin-6 ; analysis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peak Expiratory Flow Rate ; Prospective Studies

This study was purposed to investigate lrp16 gene expression in leukemia cell lines and bone marrow cells of leukemia patients and explore the relationship between lrp16 gene expression and development of leukemia. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was employed to test the lrp16 mRNA expression in 4 leukemia cell lines, including K562 (CML), HL-60 (APL), MOLT4 (ALL) and U937 cell lines, as well as in bone marrow-derived cells from 115 patients with leukemia. The effect of lrp16 gene expression on genesis and progression of leukemia was analyzed according to clinicopathological features. The results indicated that positive expression of lrp16 mRNA was found in all 4 leukemia cell lines. For leukemia patients, the positive expression rate of lrp16 mRNA in all AML patients was 38% (16/42), in which the positive rates in AML patients with complete remission (CR) and AML patients without remission were 13% (4/30) and 100% (12/12) respectively. The positive expression rate of lrp16 mRNA in ALL patients was 38% (10/26), in which the positive rate in ALL patients with CR and ALL patients without remission were 16% (3/18) and 87% (7/8) respectively. The positive expression rate of lrp16 mRNA in CML patients was 36% (9/25), in which the positive rates in CML patients with CR and CML patients without remission were 20% (4/20) and 100% (5/5) respectively. The positive rate of lrp16 mRNA in CLL patients was 31% (7/22), in which the positive rate in CLL patients with CR and CLL patients without remission were 11% (2/17) and 100% (5/5) respectively. There was no difference of lrp16 gene expression between leukemia subtypes, but there was statistical significant difference in lrp16 gene expression between CR patients and non CR patients (p < 0.001). It is concluded that the lrp16 gene is a leukemic oncogene and closely relates to genesis and progression of leukemia, which may be an indicator for evaluating clinical efficacy of leukemia therapy.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Bone Marrow ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; K562 Cells ; Leukemia ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo develop the characteristic chromatographic profile of Sarcandra glabra by HPLC for its quality control.

METHODThe HPLC analysis was performed on an Agilent Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C18 column (4. 6 mm x 250 mm, 5 microm) with column temperature at 40 degree C. The mobile phase was consisted of water containing 0. 5% formic acid and acetonitrile to methanol (1:9) in gradient mode, and the detection wavelength was set at 344 nm.

RESULTA common mode of the HPLC characteristic chromatographic profile has been establised. There were 20 common peaks , seven of which were identified, and 46 samples from different habitats were classified into five groups based on principal component cluster analysis.

CONCLUSIONThe method was time-saving and can represent the chemical information and provide a scientific basis for quality control of S. glabra.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Cluster Analysis ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; standards ; Ferns ; chemistry ; Organic Chemicals ; analysis ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Quality Control

OBJECTIVETo study the response of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to a single period of mechanical strain and expression patterns of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF-II) after mechanical stretch.

METHODSBone marrow MSCs were isolated from SD rats and cultured in vitro. A four-point bending apparatus were used to perform a single period of mechanical strain (2000 microepsilon, 40 min) on MSCs. Cellular proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of MSCs were examined and gene expression patterns of TGF-beta and IGF-II were detected by SYBR green quantitative real-time RT-PCR.

RESULTSCell proliferation, ALP activity and expression of TGF-beta and IGF-II were all significantly up-regulated in stretched MSCs when compared with their controls. The mRNA levels of TGF-beta and IGF-II got top increase immediately after mechanical loading and increased about 51.44 and 8.92 folds, respectively, when compared with control cells. Expression of TGF-beta and IGF-II decreased with time and returned to control level at 12 h after mechanical stimulus, despite of a small increase at 6 h.

CONCLUSIONThe mechanical stretch can promote MSCs proliferation, up-regulate its ALP activity and induce a time-dependent expression increase of TGF-beta and IGF-II which in turn result in osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. Mechanical stimulus is a key stimulator for osteogenic differentiation of MSCs and vital for bone formation in distraction osteogenesis.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor II ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Osteogenesis ; Osteogenesis, Distraction ; RNA, Messenger ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Somatomedins ; Transforming Growth Factor beta