This study examined the effect of P85 (a pluronic block copolymer) and microbubble (MB) ultrasound contrast agents under ultrasound irradiation on gene transfection and expression. The pEGFP plasmids that can encode enhanced green fluorescent protein (pEGFP) served as a report gene and were mixed with different concentrations of MB/0.05% (w/v) P85. Then the plasmids were transfected into human hepatoma G2 (HepG2) cells. The HepG2 cells treated with MB/P85 or without treatment were exposed to ultrasound (US parameters: 1 MHz, 1.0 W/cm(2), 20 s, 20% duty cycle). Twenty-four hours later, the transfection efficiency was assessed by fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis. The cell viability was evaluated by Trypan blue exclusion test. The results showed that the gene transfection efficiency in HepG2 cells under ultrasound irradiation was significantly higher than that without ultrasound irradiation. HepG2 cells in the MB or P85 group in the absence of ultrasound expressed less amount of green fluorescent protein. The expression efficiency reached (22.14±3.06)% and the survival rate was as high as (55.73±3.32)% in the 30% MB plus P85 group. It was concluded that MB and P85 in the presence of ultrasound can enhance gene transfection and expression.

OBJECTIVEThe present study was undertaken to design antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (AS-ODNs) of glial glutamate transporter-la (GLT-1a) and to evaluate the effectiveness of the designed AS-ODNs on the expression of GLT-1a.

METHODSFive sequences of GLT-1a AS-ODNs were designed according to the C terminus specific sequences of GLT-1a mRNA using antisense design software of IDT Com- pany. Western blot analysis was used to evaluate the inhibition effects of the five GLT-1a AS-ODNs on the expression of GLT-la.

RESULTSThe sequence of GLT-1a AS-ODNs with sequence of 5'-GGTTCTTCCTCAACACTGCA-3' could specifically inhibit the expression of GLT-1a in the hippocampal CA1 subfield of rats, while it had no effect on the expression of GLT-1b. This sequence showed similar inhibition on the expression of GLT-la in sham and ceftriaxone (Cef)-treated rats. It could also significantly inhibit the cerebral ischemic preconditioning (CIP)-induced up-regulation in the expression of GLT-1a. The magnitude of the inhibition in sham, Cef- or CIP-treated rats was similar by more than 60%.

CONCLUSIONFrom the designed five sequences of GLT-1a AS-ODNs, we obtained an effective sequence which can specifically inhibit the expression of GLT-1a.

Animals ; CA1 Region, Hippocampal ; metabolism ; Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 2 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Ischemic Preconditioning ; Oligonucleotides, Antisense ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; Rats ; Up-Regulation

AlM: To investigate the relationship between the anterior ischemic optic neuropathy ( AlON ) and the carotid artery change using doppler ultrasound.METHODS:Fifty-four cases of AlON patients and 54 cases of healthy control were observed, atherosclerotic spots were detected by the application of color ultrasound.RESULTS:ln AlON group of 54 patients, 38 cases appeared carotid atherosclerosis, accounting for 70%. The number of cases with hard plaque, soft plaque and mixed plaques were 18, 13, and 7 respectively, accounting for 33%, 24% and 13%. ln the control group, 20 cases were detected atherosclerotic change, accounting for 37%. And the number of cases with hard plaque, soft plaque and mixed plaques were 12, 5 and 3 respectively, accounting for 22%, 9%, 6%. Significant stenosis and velocity change were showed in neither AlON group nor control group. Compared with the control group, AlON group had more cases of atherosclerotic plaque, the difference was statistically significant (χ2=12. 836, P=0. 005)CONCLUSlON: The incidence of AlON is correlated with carotid atherosclerosis, and carotid ultrasonography is significantly valuable for AlON etiology and diagnosis.

The marine biological source of mineral drugs recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2010 version) mainly including pearl, nacre, clam shell, common oyster shell, ark shell, cuttle bone, and sea-ear shell are widely used in clinical. Calcium carbonate and a small amount of protein are the main components in this type of drugs. In this paper, a systematical and comparable study were carried out by determination of calcium carbonate by EDTA titration method, the crystal of calcium carbonate by X-Ray powder diffraction and the total amino acids (TAAs) of the hydrolyzed samples by ultraviolet spectrophotometry method. As a result, the crystal structure is calcite for common oyster shell, mixture of calcite and aragonite for nacre and sea-ear shell, aragonite for the other drugs. The content of calcium carbonate ranged from 86% to 96%. Cuttle bone has the highest amount of TAAs among the seven drugs which reached 1.7% while clam shell has the lowest content of 0.16% on average. In conclusion, an effective method was developed for the quality control of marine mineral drugs by comprehensive analysis of calcium carbonate and TAAs in the seven marine mineral drugs.
Amino Acids ; analysis ; chemistry ; Animal Shells ; chemistry ; Animals ; Calcium Carbonate ; analysis ; chemistry ; Crystallization ; Edetic Acid ; chemistry ; Mollusca ; chemistry ; classification ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; analysis ; chemistry ; standards ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results ; Seawater ; Species Specificity ; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet ; X-Ray Diffraction

Objective To obtain antibiotic-resistant mutants producing metabolites with antitumor activity from wild-type actinomycete strains without antitumor activity. Methods An actinomycete strain L35-1 was used as an initial strain for obtaining antibiotic-resistant mutants, which is a marine-derived wild-type strain without antitumor activity with an inhibition rate of 2.8% at the 1000 μg/ml of high sample concentration on K562 cells. The antibiotic-resistant mutants both from auto-mutagenesis and chemical mutagen-induced mutagenesis were selected by single colony isolation on antibiotic-containing plates according to the method for obtaining drug-resistant mutants in ribosome engineering. The antitumor activity was assayed by the MTT method using K562 cells for the mutants with aqueous acetone extracts of the whole broth of their fermentation.Results A total of 114 neomycin-resistant (ner) and 68 streptomycin-resistant (str) mutants, all from auto-mutagenesis, was obtained on drug-containing plates. Among them, the 7 ner and 3 str mutants appeared to be bioactive with an inhibition rate above 20% at the 100 μg/ml sample concentration on K562 cells. On the other hand, 41 str and 32 ner mutants from DES-induced mutagenesis and 46 ner mutants from NTG-induced mutagenesis were obtained by mutagen-induced mutation coupled with the single colony isolation on antibiotic-containing plates, among which, one str mutant from DES-induced mutagenesis and one ner mutant from NTG-induced mutagenesis were bioactive with an inhibition rate over 20% at the 100 μg/ml sample concentration on K562 cells. Conclusions The present result has revealed that the wild-type actinomycete strains without bioactivity might become a great source initial strains to obtain bioactive mutants by drug-resistant mutation technique.

Objective To explore the influence of hemodialysis(HD) and henodiafiltation on serum ?_2-microglobulin(?_2-MG) of children with acute renal failure and contrast research on declining rate of serum ?_2-MG before and after(children′s) HD and HDF.(Met-)hods By Branc Dialog HD machine of double-pump,HDF for 18 times and HD for 20 times were given to children with acute renal(fai-)lure.The serum ?_2-MG were observed before and after HD and HDF.Results A great difference was observed in level of serum ?_2-MG between before and after HD and HDF.In HDF group,there was significant difference in level of serum ?_2-MG before and after HDF(P

OBJECTIVETo explore whether fecal calprotectin (f-calprotectin, FC) may be an early marker for the identification of gastrointestinal injury in preterm infants by measuring FC concentration and changes of FC concentration in infants with different perinatal factors.

METHODSFC concentration was measured using ELISA in 76 samples (50-100 mg) obtained from 38 preterm infants (gestation 29 to 33 weeks), at birth and on the third day after birth (the 1st and the 2nd FC levels). The infants were classified into three groups according to the reason for preterm birth: premature rupture of membranes (PROM; n=13), spontaneous preterm birth (SPB; n=5) and indicated preterm birth (IPB; n=20).

RESULTSThere were no significant differences between the 1st and 2nd FC levels in the 38 infants. The 1st FC level in the PROM group was significantly higher than that in the IPB group (P<0.05). The 1st FC level in infants whose mothers received antenatal antibiotics treatment was significantly lower. Infants born by cesarean section had a significantly lower 1st FC level than those born by vaginal delivery (P<0.05). Both the 1st and 2nd FC levels in infants with feeding intolerance were significantly higher than in infants with feeding tolerance (P<0.05). The 2nd FC level was negatively correlated with 1 min Apgar score (r=-0.3, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPremature rupture of membranes and perinatal asphyxia may lead to an increase in the excretion of FC in preterm infants. FC may be used as a marker for early evaluation of gastrointestinal conditions in preterm infants.

Biomarkers ; Feces ; chemistry ; Female ; Humans ; Infant Nutrition Disorders ; metabolism ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; metabolism ; Leukocyte L1 Antigen Complex ; analysis ; Male

Objective To investigate the role of motility of Oddi's sphincter in pigment gallbladder stone formation in the model of guinea pigs.Methods Thirty-four general adult male Hartley guinea pigs were divided randomly into two groups.Control group (10 guinea pigs)and pigment stone groups (24 guinea pigs,which were divided into 4 subgroups with 6 guinea pigs each according to the time they were sacrificed),fed with pigment lithogenic diet.After 3,6,9 and 12 weeks later,Oddi's sphincter manometry and myoelectric activity record were obtained by multifunctional physiograph at each stage.Results The incidence of pigment gallstone formation was 0,0,16.7％ and 66.7％ in 3w,6w,9w and 12w group,respectively.The frequency of myoelectric activity decreased apparently in the 3w group(P ＜ 0.05).The amplitude of myoelectric activity had the tendency of decreasing but not statistically significant.The motility frequency of Oddi's sphincter decreased greatly in the 9w group (P ＜ 0.05).The basal pressure of Oddi's sphincter and common bile duct increased markedly in the 12w group [from (25 ± 8) mmHg (1 mmHg =0.133 kPa) to (41 ± 12) mmHg and from (22 ± 8) mmHg to (39 ± 12) mmHg,P ＜ 0.05)].Conclusions Pigment lithogenic diet may induce dysfunction of Oddi's sphincter.The disturbance of Oddi's sphincter motility may play a role in pigment gallstone formation.

To prepare the RNAse-resistant virus particles containing the partial gene fragments of avian influenza virus H5N1 for use as RNA standard and control in RNA virus detection, the genes coding the coat protein and maturase of E.coli bacteriophage MS2 were amplified by PCR and then cloned into prokaryotic expression vector pET32a to construct the intermediate vector pET32a-MS2. In addition, the gene sequences coding hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase(NA) and M protein of the H5N1 virus were also cloned separately to the down-stream of plasmid pET32a-MS2, thus constructing the prokaryotic expression vectors pET32a-NS2-HA, pET32a-MS2-NA and pET32a-MS2-M. These recombinant plasmids were then transformed separately to E.coli BL21(DE3) with induction by IPTG. to express the virus-like particles. The virus-like particles observed under electron microscopy were identified by RT-PCR ,while their stability was confirmed by real-time RT-PCR. In this way, the virus-like particles were successively constructed and identified through PCR amplification, enzymolysis identification and sequencing analysis. These virus-like particles observed under electron microscopy appeared to be circular in shape with a diameter of about 50 nm. Their stability was proved to be rather good. From these observations, it is apparent that these virus-like particles can be used as RNA standard and quality control in the detection of avian influenza virus H5N1.

Objective To investigate the constitution,density changes and carrier rate about Yersinia pestis of rodents in plague foci,and to provide the scientific evidence for plague prevention.Methods According to the program of national monitoring plague,two survey procedures,namely quadrat of single-ha for 24 h and 5 m mouse jam,were used to monitor the host animals; culture and identification of Yersinia pestis in liver or spleen of the experimental animals was carried out by using self-made medium in the north of Beiyuanzi village in Dingbian town Shaanxi province.Results One hundred twelve rodents were captured using the first procedures and the rodent average density was 8.62 ind./hm2 and six species of rodents were found namely Meriones unguiculatus ( 100 individuals),Microtusfortis(5 individuals),Ochotona daurica(3 individuals),Meriones meridianus (2 individuals),Mus musculus Linnaeus (1 individual) and Cricetulus barabensis (1 individual).One hundred seventy-three field mouses were captured using the second procedures including Mus musculus Linnaeus (136 individuals),Cricetulus barabensis (36 individuals),and Microtus fortis ( 1 individual ).Among them,Microtus fortis was found in the salt marshes in the southern edge of Ordos Plateau steppe in plague area of Dingbian county.Yersinia pestis was not identified in all animals.Conclusions Microtus fortis is found in natural foci of plague in Shaanxi province for the first time,and a new geographic region was found.Its epidemiological significance needs further study.