Objective To observe the effects of hypoxia on the expression of connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)and matrix metalloproteinase 9(MMP-9)in lung fibroblasts at different time points.Methods Fibroblasts were cultured at hypoxic condition 0,1.5,3,6,12 h respectively.CTGF mRNA and MMP-9 mRNA level were detected in each group by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).The concen- tration of CTGF and MMP-9 protein in fibroblasts supernatant were determined using enzyme-linked im- munosorbent assay(ELISA).Results Hypoxia stimulated fibroblasts increased the level of CTGF mRNA with- in 1.5 h,and the levels remained at a plateau up to 6 h,and then decreased by 12 h.The level of MMP-9 mRNA increased significantly within 3 h,and the levels kept the trend for increasing.ELISA revealed that the levels of both CTGF and MMP-9 protein/cell in medium conditioned by fibroblasts exposed to hypoxia were maximal at 12 h.The level of MMP in the CTGF-Ab treated groups was significantly decreased compared to the untreated groups.Conclusions These findings suggest that hypoxia stimulates fibroblasts to release CTGF as a mitogen factor,which initiates the fibrosis cascade and airway remodeling by regulating the balance of extracellular ma- trix synthesis and degradation via MMP-9 which is secreted by fibroblast cells in response to CTGF.

Objective Dipole source analysis was employed to investigate the transient changes in brain mechanisms at earlier latencies.Methods Fourteen healthy volunteers were recruited in this research and evoked event-related potentials (ERPs) of unimodal and bimodal visual auditory stimuli were recorded by 64-electrodes electroencephalograph (EEG) recording system.All these earlier phases of the stimuli were divided into several subphases by specific time window for source analysis.Results The results showed that ERPs sources were mainly generated from visual and audio cortex,and there were changes in the location and strength of the dipole sources in each sub-phase.Conclusions The result of this study implies a serial processing of sensory information in human cortices in early phase of visual and auditory stimuli.

0.05).Chlorpyrifos increased the activity of CYP1A1 in lungs,CYP2B1 in kidneys and lungs.Cypermethrin increased activity of CYP1A1 in livers,kidneys and lungs,CYP2B1 in livers and lungs,CYP3A in livers.These increases were statistically significant (P

Biopsy ; Histological Techniques ; instrumentation ; methods ; Humans ; Indicators and Reagents ; Paraffin Embedding ; Ultrasonics

This study aims to explore and analyze the condition of concurrent diseases and medicine use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and western medicine among the patients with insomnia. One thousand and sxity seven cases of data from 20 national hospitals' hospital information system (HIS) databases were collected. The frequent concurrent diseases included hypertension (26.9%), brain blood supply insufficiency (24.93%), cerebral infarction (19.49%), blood lipoprotein disturbance (15.28%), coronary heart disease (14.15%), headache (10.68%), chronic gastritis (8.81%), type 2 diabetes mellitus (7.87%), depressive disorder (7.4%) and anxiety disorder (6.65%). The 10 most frequently-used western drugs included alprazolam (35.99%), aspirin (25.4%), olanzapine (24.18%), cinepazide (23.06%), flupentixol & melitracen (18.74%), zolpidem (18.37%), oxiracetam (15.65%), estazolam (15%), aniracetam (13.4%) and piracetam (13.31%). The 10 most frequently-used TCM included Shuxuening injection (16.4%), Shuxuetong injection (15.18%), extract of ginkgo biloba leaf (14.71%), gastrodin (12.46%), Dengzanxixin injection (11.34%), Xueshuantong (8.53%), Danhong injection (6.37%), compound liquorice tablet (5.81%), Sanqi Tongshu capsule (5.72%) and sowthistle-leaf ixeridium injection (5.34%). Among all combined uses, the most frequent western drug use was alprazolam and olanzapine, while combined use of hypnotic drug and Huoxuehuayu formula is the most frequent. This study concludes that the concurrent diseases mainly include cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, metabolic disorders and anxiety-depression disorders, with increasing tendency of diseases types by ages, especially for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. The most frequently-used hypnotic is alprazolam in the insomnia patients, and it is worth being concerned about the off-label use of olanzapine as an antipsychotic for the treatment of insomnia However, due to the fact that all cases data are from the inpatients, these findings have some limitations.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alprazolam ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Anxiety Agents ; therapeutic use ; Antipsychotic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Benzodiazepines ; therapeutic use ; Cerebral Infarction ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Coronary Disease ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Headache ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Humans ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; complications ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to demonstrate the activities and phosphorylation changes induced by acute ethanol treatment and withdrawal conditions in the intracellular signal transduction molecules [such as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK3beta), and Akt] of the SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line. METHODS: The acute treatment exposed SH-SY5Y cells to 100 mM ethanol, and we took samples 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and 24 hours after initiating this treatment. After 24 hours' continuous ethanol treatment, we initiated ethanol withdrawal, taking samples at 30 minutes and 60 minutes. We assayed the kinase phosphorylations via an immunoblot analysis using phosphorspecific antibodies, quantified by optical densitometry. RESULTS: Ethanol treatment induced a transient increase in phosphorylation of GSK3beta and Akt at 30 minutes but failed to change the phosphorylation level of ERK. Ethanol withdrawal induced a transient ERK phosphorylation increase at 30 minutes, but it had no effect on the phosphorylation of GSK3beta or Akt. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the ethanol-induced cellular response includes the ERK, GSK3beta, and Akt systems. In particular, the ERK pathway may play a role in the acute withdrawal response. This also suggests that a relatively short exposure to ethanol, such as the 24-hour exposure in this study, can induce functional adaptation within a cell.
Antibodies ; Cell Line ; Densitometry ; Ethanol ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; Glycogen Synthase Kinases ; Humans ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Neuroblastoma ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Signal Transduction

Objective To investigate the characteristics of auditory brainstem response (ABR) in autistic children of 6 years or younger .Methods A total of 98 children with normal hearing and 22 autistic children were en‐rolled in this study .They were divided into 3 groups :1~2 years age group ,2< ~3 years age group ,and 3< ~6 years age group .The thresholds ,wave latencies and interpeak intervals of ABR were statistically analyzed .Results The ABR thresholds in normal hearing children (and autistic children) in 1~2 years age group ,2< ~3 years age group ,and 3< ~6 years age group were 15 .64 ± 5 .02 (17 .50 ± 5 .35) ,14 .73 ± 4 .85 (17 .81 ± 6 .58) ,and 15 .57 ± 5 .62 (17 .25 ± 6 .97) dB nHL ,respectively .There were no significantly statistical difference between the normal hearing children and autistic children (P>0 .05) .In 80 dB nHL click sound stimulus ,there was also no statistical difference in the values of peak latencies or interpeak intervals of ABR between normal hearing children and autistic children (P> 0 .05) ,whereas ,prolongation of peak latencies or interpeak intervals of ABR occurred in 36 .36%(25 .00% ears) autistic children .The ratio of prolongation of peak latencies of I ,III ,V waves and interpeak inter‐vals of I-III ,III-V ,I-V occurred in 4 .54% ,6 .82% ,13 .64% ,18 .18% ,6 .83% and 15 .91% ,respectively . Conclusion The ABR in some autistic children present abnormality and occur in various forms with the prolongation of interpeak intervals of I -III as the most common .

Objective To compare the separation effects of protein samples extracted by two different methods with two -dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) .Methods Ultrasonic disruption and glass-beads grounding were used to prepare protein samples of Gram-negative bacteria , Gram-positive bacteria and animal tissues .The actual results of the two sample preparation methods were compared by 2-DE.Results The 2-DE maps of samples extracted by the two methods were obtained.Conclusion The 2-DE maps of glass-beads grounding samples are better than those of ultrasonic disruption thanks to their lower backgrounds , which are beneficial for further image analyses .

Objective To investigate the protective effect of crocin on oxidative stress cell model of PC 12 cell and the effect of crocin on PI3K/Akt signal pathway,as well as further explore the mechanism of protective effect on model cells.Methods Cells were divided into control group,model group,crocin group and VE group.The cell survival rate was detected by MTT method,and the expression of mRNA and protein of PI3K/Akt were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot.Results With the crocin concentration in 0.625 μM and 5 μM,the cell survival rate increased in a dose-dependent manner.The average optical density rate of PI3K and Akt mRNA were 0.435±0.044 and 0.375 ± 0.034,and the PI3K and Akt protein were 0.378± 0.038 and 0.386± 0.043 of crocin group.Compared with the model group,the expression levels of PI3K/Akt increased in crocin group (P＜0.05).Conclusion These results indicate that the antioxidant and antiapoptosis effects of crocin are induced via increasing expression of PI3K and pAkt.