Objective To evaluate the value of electrospun polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) nanofibers with different topological structures as scaffolds for growth of Schwann cells (SCs).Methods Electrospun PMMA nanofibers with random or aligned topological structures were fabricated and measured with biocompatibility.Lentivirus-transfected green fluorescent protein was used as the reporting gene to monitor form and growth manner of SCs on different substrates and dependency of cell body and process with fiber structure,with PMMA thin films served as the control.Results Electrospun PMMA nanofibers revealed good biocompatibility and could exert contact guidance to the growth of SCs.Topological structures of the electrospun nanofibers influenced cell morphology.SCs were aligned with the orientation of substrate fibers and form longer cell process when growing on aligned nanofibers (P ＜0.01).Primary SCs preferred to follow the cue of aligned nanofibers compared to random fibers.Conclusion Aligned electrospun PMMA nanofibers have the potentiality as transplantable scaffolds for loading SCs after neural injury.

Objective To investigate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on laparoscopy and the open radical prostatectomy.Methods A retrospective analysis of 226 cases of radical prostatectomy from 2012 January to 2013 May was performed.106 patients underwent laparoscopic surgery,with aged 66.5±0.7,height (167.7±0.5) cm,weight (66.8±0.9) kg; 120 patients underwent open surgery,with aged (65.8±0.7) year,height (168.1±0.5) cm,weight (66.5±0.8) kg.Non-obese (BMI ＜25 kg/m2) and obese (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) were divided in each group.The preoperative serum PSA level,the operation time,the blood loss during operation,the preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin,Gleason score,and the postoperative indwelling catheter time were compared between non-obese group and obese group.In the laparoscopic surgery group including 76 non-obese cases (71.7％) and 30 obese cases (28.3％),no difference showed in PSA values and age before operation between the two sub-groups.In the open surgery group,including 84 non-obese cases (70.0％) and 36 obese cases (30.0％),no statistical difference of preoperative PSA values and age showed in the two sub-groups.Results In the laparoscopic group,the operation time is (nonobese 169.4±37.8 min and obese 188.5±42.3 min),and the blood Hb decrease(non-obese-22.8± 11.0g/L,obese-30.9±15.9 g/L) and the blood loss(non-obese 115.9±68.9 ml,obese 178.3±126.4 ml)showed significant difference in the two sub-groups (P＜0.05).The two sub-groups showed no statisticaldifference in postoperative indwelling catheter time and Gleason score (P＞0.05).In the open surgery group,the intraoperative hemorrhage (non-obese 413.7±289.4 ml,obese 594.4-±534.9 ml) and the hemoglobin decrease (non-obese-27.2± 13.3 g/L,obese-34.9± 15.8 g/L) showed significant difference (P＜0.05).The two sub-groups showed no significant difference in the preoperative hemoglobin,postoperative indwelling catheter time,Gleason score and operation time (P＞0.05).Conclusions For the patients who underwent prostatectomy,no matter by laparoscopic or open surgery,the blood loss was greater in obese subgroup than non-obese subgroup,and the operation time was much longer in obese group than non-obese group.

Objective To explore the effects of one time loading of different doses of simvastatin before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)on post-PCI inflammation,oxidation stress and the endothelium function in (ACS) patients. Methods Totally 124 cases with ACS were randomly divided into two groups:high dose simvastatin group(40 mg,62 cases),low dose simvastatin group (20 mg,62 cases). Each group was given the same basic treatment. Blood samples were obtained from all the patients before and 12 h after PCI,and endothelin-1 (ET-1),nitric oxide (NO),interleukin-10(IL-10),high sensitive - C reactive protein(hs-CRP),superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde(MDA) were detected. Results The baseline information,distribution of sex,age,and implanted frames had no significant differences between the two groups (P＞0.05).Before PCI,the levels of ET-1,NO,IL-10,hs-CRP,SOD and MDA had no significant differences (P＞0.05) between the two groups.After PCI,ET-1,IL-10 and hs-CRP levels in simvastatin 40 mg group were significant lower while NO level was higher than in simvastatin 20 mg group[(4.4 ± 1.1)ng/L vs.(4.8±1.2)ng/L,t=2.03,P=0.044; (15.0±6.3) ng/L vs.(18.7±9.0)ng/L,t=2.68,P=0.008;(26.9±10.0)ng/L vs.(31.5± 11.7)ng/L,t=2.52,P =0.022;(51.9± 10.9)μmol/L vs.(47.1±11.8)μmol/L,t=2.37,P=0.020].There were no significant differences in MDA and SOD levels between the two groups.For safety,all the patients had no abnormality in liver and kidney function after treatment. Conclusions Compared with 20 mg simvastatin loading before PCI,the 40mg simvastatin loading may decrease the inflammatory cytokines and improve the endothelium function more effectively.

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effects of RNA interference(RNAi)on the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9)gene and invasiveness and adhesion of ovarian cancer cells.Methods Four groups of different specific target sequence in coding region of MMP-9 and one non- specific sequence were chosen,which were Sitel,Site2,Site3,Site4 and Site5.Small interference RNA (siRNA)expression cassettes(SEC)were constructed by PCR and transfected into ovarian cancer HO- 8910PM cells.RT-PCR and western blot were used to detect mRNA and protein expression of MMP-9 gene; the abilities of invasion and adhesion were detected by Matrigel invasion assay and cell adhesion assay. Results The expression of MMP-9 was inhibited and the inhibitory effects of different sequence were varied.The mRNA expression was 0.64?0.06,0.47?0.07,0.55?0.10 in Sitel,Site2,Site3 group, and protein expression was 0.30?0.09,0.27?0.08,0.37?0.12,respectively.Site2 group had the most efficient inhibitory effect,followed by Sitel and Site3 groups.Cell growth curve revealed that cell growth was significantly inhibited in Site2 group.Invasiveness and adhesion were significantly reduced,the inhibitory rate on invasion in Site1,Site2,Site3 groups were 50.0%,50.0% and 37.5%,respectively;the inhibitory rate on adhesion in Site1,Site2,Site3,Site4 groups were 43.8%,48.8%,33.9%,24.2% at 60 min and 41.6%,40.2%,35.1%,16.0% at 90 min,respectively.Conclusions RNAi exists in ovarian HO-8910PM cells.MMP-9 siRNA can specifically down-regulate MMP-9 expression and lead to the inhibition of invasiveness and adhesion in ovarian cancer cells.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of butyl alcohol extract of Baitouweng decoction ( BAEB) on yeast-to-hyphae transition of Candida albicans isolates from vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) in alkaline pH.

METHODSerial 2-fold dilution assay was used to determine the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of Baitouweng decoction extracts against C. albicans isolates from VVC, XTT assay was applied to determine the metabolic activity of C. albicans hypha treated by BAEB for 6 h. The morphological change of C. albicans treated by BAEB was inspected at different pH by inverted microscope, fluorescence microscope, scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Solid agar plate and semi-solid agar were utilized to evaluate colony morphology and invasive growth of C. albicans, respectively. Quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was adopted to observe the expressions of hyphae-specific genes including HWP1, ALS3, CSH1, SUN41 and CaPDE2.

RESULTThe MIC of BAEB against C. albicans is less than that of other extracts; hyphae grow best at pH 8. 0; 512 mg · L(-1) and 1,024 mg · L(-1) BAEB could inhibit formation of hyphae and influence colony morphology. When treated by 512 mg · L(-1) and 1,024 mg · L(-1) BAEB, the colonies became smooth; while by 0 and 256 mg · L(-1) BAEB, the colonies became wrinkled. In semi-solid agar, the length of hyphae decreased steadily as the concentration of BAEB lowered. The expression of HWP1, ALS3, CSHl, SUN41 were downregulated by 5.12, 4.26, 3.2 and 2.74 folds, and CaPDE2 was upregulated by 2.38 fold.

CONCLUSIONBAEB could inhibit yeast-to-hyphae transition of C. albicans isolates from VVC in alkaline pH.

Antifungal Agents ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Candida albicans ; drug effects ; genetics ; growth & development ; Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Hyphae ; drug effects ; growth & development

Transgenic tobacco plants expressing a stress responsive gene BoRS1, isolated from Brassica oleracea var. acephala, under the control of the 35S promoter of the Cauliflower mosaic virus were produced. Some plants were further used to test the effect of high level BoRS1 expression on drought stress resistance. The presence of transgene in putative transgenic plants was confirmed by PCR analysis. Thirty-six among 130 transformants showed amplification of predicted fragment of BoRS1 while no amplification was observed in the control. Some transgenic lines confirmed by PCR analysis were analyzed through semi-quantitative one-step RT-PCR for the expression of BoRS1 gene. Amplification of 1.4 kb cDNA product revealed transcription of BoRS1 gene. Meanwhile, differential intensity of the cDNA band indicated variable expression levels of the transgene among different transformed lines. The water loss of detached leaves from the transgenic plants was slower than that of the control. Transgenic tobaccos and the non-transgenic controls were used for further drought stress experiments by using different concentration of mannitol. The transformants showed higher tolerance to drought stress than non-transgenic plants and different transgenic lines exhibited different tolerance during drought stress. These results showed that the BoRS1 gene probably play role in enhancing the ability to drought stress.
Adaptation, Physiological ; genetics ; Agrobacterium tumefaciens ; genetics ; Brassica ; genetics ; Dehydration ; Genes, Plant ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Genetically Modified ; genetics ; growth & development ; physiology ; Stress, Physiological ; Tobacco ; genetics ; growth & development ; physiology ; Transformation, Genetic ; Transgenes

Objective To construct the protein-protein interaction network of Parkinson's disease (PD) associated proteins. Methods PD-related proteins and their interaction proteins were collected by bioinformatics method from HGNC, OPHID and UniHI database. A protein-protein interaction network of PD associated proteins was designed by ProteoLens software; each protein was evaluated by its contribution to the network and the relevance scores were calculated, thus the coefficient of association of each protein in the network was noted. Results A protein-protein interaction network containing 463 PD associated proteins and 767 their interaction proteins was obtained with its index aggregation reaching 90.5% (P=0.008). The relevance scores of SNCA, PARK2, DRD2, HTRA2,NDUFV2, DJ1, DRD1, DRD3, TRAP1 and ND3 were much higher than that of the others, which indicated their important roles in the pathogenesis of PD. The relevance scores of APP, UBE2I, CLIC6 and UBB were a little higher among all the preteins, indicating that they also participated in the pathogenesis of PD. Some novel proteins, such as FLNA, FREQ, BIRC7, EPB41, EPB41L1, GIPC1,GNAZ, GRB2, KCNJ9, MAPK1, BAG5 and CYC, may also involved in the pathogenesis of PD.Conclusion A scientific and practical protein-protein interaction network of PD associated proteins is successfully constructed, which further confirms the role of some proteins in the pathogenesis of PD.Some novel proteins that might involve in PD are obtained too.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the dynamic correlation between pre-S1 antigen, pre-S2 antigen and HBV DNA in the serum of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients undergoing nucleoside analogue therapy.

METHODS12 CHB patients with transient virological response after lamivudine treatment, and 20 patients treated with adefovir for 5 years were recruited in this study. Serum samples were collected at four time points when HBV DNA fluctuated sharply during lamivudine treatment, and at 0, 8, 12, 28, 52, 104, 156, 208, 260 weeks following adefovir treatment. HBV DNA was quantified by real-time PCR, pre-S1 and pre-S2 antigens were detected by ELISA.

RESULTSThe titers of pre-S1 and pre-S2 antigens were not correlated with the HBV DNA level in the serum of lamivudine treated patients. Only in one case of the adfovir treated patients, the decrease of pre-S1 and pre-S2 antigens was in parallel with the decrease of HBV DNA. Linear regression analysis indicated that neither pre-S1 antigen nor pre-S2 antigen was correlated with HBV DNA in the serum of lamivudine or adfovir treated patients (P more than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONOur results indicate that the titers of pre-S1 and pre-S2 antigens are not correlated with the serum HBV DNA in CHB patients undergoing nucleoside analogue therapy. Neither pre-S1 nor pre-S2 is a good predictor for the outcome of nucleoside analogue treatment.

DNA, Viral ; blood ; Hepatitis B virus ; genetics ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Lamivudine ; therapeutic use ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective To evaluate the status of rehabilitation resource configuration and rehabilitation service of health system in Guangdong province,and to provide basis for the development of rehabilitation institutions. Methods From November to December in 2015, an online survey was conducted among rehabilitation hospitals in Health and Family Planning Commission of 21 cities in Guangdong province by using self-administered ques-tionnaire.The deadline was December 30th,2015. Results There were 38 rehabilitation hospitals in Guangdong province including 18 non-profit and 20 for-profit ones. Only one was tertiary rehabilitation hospital.There were totally 4524 open beds,hospitals with 50 to199 beds ac-counted for 68.4%. There were 37,262 rehabilitation equipments worth more than 10,000 Yuan, in which less than 500,000 Yuan was the most.There were 776 rehabilitation doctors,1051 nurses,749 therapists,and 248 oth-er staff members. The annual hospital admissions were more than 55,000, hospital bed utilization rate was 74.6%,bed turnover rates was 12.75,the working time of bed was 272.3 days,and the average length of stay in hospital was 19.5 days. Conclusion These rehabilitation institutions cannot meet the need of people in Guangdong province.Many problems ex-isted,such as low hospital scales,unbalanced geographical distribution,low rates of hospital beds utilization and turnover,inadequate hospital management and imperfect health system.The service and management capabilities of rehabilitation institutions should be strengthened.

OBJECTIVETo observe the inhibitory effects of antisense MMP-9 oligodeoxynucleotides on invasiveness and adhesion ability in vitro of ovarian cancer cells, and to investigate the mechanisms of action.

METHODSMMP-9 antisense oligonucleotides were transfected by lipofectinmin into ovarian cancer cell line HO-8910PM cells expressing MMP-9 induced with fibronectin. RT-PCR, Western blot and gelatin zymography were used to detected MMP-9 expression of mRNA and protein and enzymatic activity. The ability of invasion and migration of ovarian cancer cells was assayed in Transwell cell culture chamber. Cell adhersion assay was carried out in a microculture well pre-coated with fibronectin.

RESULTSMMP-9 expressions of mRNA and protein were significantly decreased in the antisense-transfected cells. Comparing with the control group, the inhibition rate was 34. 8% and 42. 5% , respectively (P <0. 05). Its gelatin enzymatic activity was inhibited. Matrigel invasion assay and Transwell migration assay revealed markedly reduction in invasion and migration for the antisense group. The inhibition rates were 22. 4% and 24. 8% , respectively. The adhesion ability was also reduced. The inhibition rates were 49. 8% and 38. 3% at 60 min and 90 min, respectively.

CONCLUSIONMMP-9 down-regulation can significantly inhibit the ability of invasion and attachment of ovarian cells in vitro. MMP-9 may play an important role in invasion and metastasis of ovarian cells and potentially be a molecular target of blocking invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer.

Blotting, Western ; Cell Adhesion ; genetics ; physiology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; genetics ; physiology ; Down-Regulation ; Female ; Humans ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Oligodeoxyribonucleotides, Antisense ; genetics ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; enzymology ; genetics ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transfection