Microglia are the principal immune effectors in brain and participate in a series ofneurodegenerative diseases. The microglial shapes are highly plastic. The morphology is closely related with their activation status and biological functions. Cerebral ischemia could induce microglial activation, and microglial activation is subjected to precise regulation. Microglia could play either protective or neurotoxic roles in cerebral ischemia. Therefore, regulating the expression of receptors or protein molecules on microglia, inhibiting the excessive activation of microglia and production of pro-inflammatory factors, promoting the release of neuroprotective substances might be beneficial to the treatment of cerebral ischemia. The study about relationship between microglia and cerebral ischemia will shed a light on the treatment of cerebral ischemia. This paper is a review of microglial activation and regulation during cerebral ischemia as well as related therapeutic methods.

Objective To explore the diagnosis and treatment of solid-pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas (SPTP).Methods The clinical data of 10 cases of SPTP treated from Feb.2003 to Feb.2009 in China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University were retrospectively analyzed.Results All the 10 cases underwent abdominal ultrasound examination and the accurate rate was 30％,and 6 of them underwent abdominal CT examination as well and the diagnosis accurate rate was 16.7％.All patients underwent surgery and pancreatic fistula occurred in 1 case after operation.There was no recurrence during the postoperative follow-up of 3-70 months.Conclusions SPTP has a low clinical incidence and it is frequently seen in young females.SPTP has no specific clinical manifestation.Imaging examinations play important roles in its diagnosis.SPTP can be found in any part of the pancreas.Resection is the first choice of treatment.The surgery extent depends on the position of SPTP and its surrounding tissues.If the intraoperative pathological examination shows the possibility of malignancy,radical surgery resection should be considered.

Breast Neoplasms ; genetics ; Disease Susceptibility ; Female ; Genes, BRCA1 ; Genes, BRCA2 ; Humans ; Mutation ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; genetics

Objective:To evaluate the effects of periodontitis on the expression of apoptosis-related proteins in pancreas of rats with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.Methods:Spontaneously type 2 diabetic OLETF rats were randomly divided into 2 groups:diabetes with or without periodontitis(diabetes group and combination group).LETO rats with the same germline and the same age but having normal glucose tolerance were randomly divided into control group and periodontitis group.20 weeks after periodontitis were established,all the rats were sacrificed and the pancreas were pathologically examined by HE staining.The expression of Bax,Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 in the pancreas islet were detected by immunohistochemistry staining and semi-quantitative analysis.Results:The expression of Bax, Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 in the pancreas islet was no significant difference between control and periodontitis groups(P=0.324,P=0.091,P=0.852).Compared with diabetes group,the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 in combination group showed a significant increase(P=0.000,P=0.000),and the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly decreased(P=0.022).Conclusion:Under healthy conditions,periodontitis has no effect on the expression of apoptosis-related proteins in rat pancreas islet.However,in rats with diabe-tes,periodontitis may affect the expression of apoptosis-related proteins in pancreas islet.

Objective To identify the disease-causing gene mutation in families with anterior segment dysgenesis (ASD).Methods Two ASD families coming from Henan and Hebei provinces were enrolled in this study.Ocular examinations were performed,and periphery blood specimens were collected from each family member under the informed consent.The blood samples of 2 patients and 1 normal person in family 1 and 1 patient and 1 normal person in family 2 were analyzed by the whole exome sequences.The candidate genes were verified by Sanger sequence and predicted damages by PolyPhen-2 and SIFT Human Splicing Finder software.Results Family 1 including 9 patients were examined in serial 3 passages,which conformed to autosomal dominant inheritance pattern.Clinical examination revealed binocular anterior segment dysgenesis in the 9 patients.There were 13 SNV and 55 InDel candidate mutations.And missense mutation c.T2A(p.M1K)on PAX6 gene was found.Family 2 included 8 members,and 2 patients were examined.The splicing mutation c.357 + 1g ＞ c on the same gene was found.Conclusion T2A(p.M1 K) and c.357 + 1 g ＞ c mutations in PAX6 gene are responsible for ASD.Whole exome sequence provides a new approach to detect diseasecausing mutation of ASD with diversity clinical phenotypes.

A microfluidic chip with micropillar arrays for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture was designed and validated.The chip consisted of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channel plate and a glass cover plate.One cell culture chamber composed of two rows of micropillar arrays and two lateral channels for transporting the culture medium were integrated on the PDMS channel plate.The spacing between micropillars directly affects the chip performance, which is critical for the design of the chip.In this work, the spacing between micropillars was optimized by numerical simulation and experimental validation.With the optimized microfluidic chip, the mixture of cells and extracellular matrix mimics could be steadily injected into the cell culture chamber, the nutrients in the culture medium from the lateral channels could quickly diffuse into the chamber, and the cell metabolites could also timely diffuse out of the chamber.To test the stability of the microenvironment in the microfluidic chip, neural stem cells were three-dimensionally cultured.

Clinical research design is the beginning and the cornerstone for clinical research,and it functions as the preliminary step of translational research.In order to improve clinical research ability,foster quality research talents team,and to promote the development of translational research,Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) started to provide the online course Designing Clinical Research (DCR),which has greatly contributed to enhancing clinical research capacity.The management of DCR online course serves as a great exploration on training junior medical professionals and international research collaboration.This study aims at sharing the management experiences of clinical research design and junior talents training.

Objective To retrospectively determine the features of stones and calcifications in hepatobiliary system on virtual nonenhanced (VNE) dual-energy computed tomography (CT), and to evaluate the possibility of VNE images in diagnosis for those lesions.Methods A total of 128 gall stones and calcifications of the liver found in 110 patients were examined with triple phase abdominal CT scan from July 2007 to December 2011, in which true nonenhanced (TNE) phase and arterial phase were performed with single-energy CT (120 kVp) and portal venous phase was performed with dual-energy CT (100 kVp and 140 kVp). VNE images were generated from the portal venous phase dual-energy CT data sets by using commercially VNC software. The mean CT values for the stone, liver, bile and paraspinal muscle, mean lesion density and size in area dimension, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of lesion to the liver or bile, and image noise were assessed and compared between VNE and TNE images. The effective dose and size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) were also calculated.Results The mean CT values of the lesions measured on VNE images declined significantly compared with those measured on TNE images (164.51±102.13 vs. 290.72±197.80 HU, P<0.001), so did the lesion-to-liver CNR (10.80±11.82 vs.18.81±17.06, P<0.001) and the lesion-to-bile CNR (17.24±14.41 vs. 21.32±17.31, P<0.001). There was no significant difference in size of lesions area between VNE and TNE images (0.69±0.88 vs. 0.72±0.85 cm, P=0.062). Compared to the 128 lesions found in TNE images, VNE images showed the same density in 30 (23.4%) lesions, lighter density in 88 (68.8%) lesions, while failed to show 10 (7.8%) lesions, and showed the same size in 61 (47.7%) lesions and smaller size in 57 (44.5%) lesions. The CT cutoff values of lesion and size were 229.21 HU and 0.15 cm, respectively. The total effective dose for triple phase scan protocol with TNE images was 19.51±7.03 mSv, and the SSDE was 39.84±11.10 mGy. The effective dose for dual phase scan protocol with VNE images instead of TNE images was 13.29±4.89 mSv, and the SSDE was 27.83±9.99 mGy. Compared with TNE images, the effective dose and SSDE of VNE images were down by 32.05%±3.69 % and 30.63%±2.34 %, respectively.Conclusions Although the CT values and CNR of the lesions decreased in VNE images, the lesions of which attenuation greater than 229.21 HU and size larger than 0.15 cmcould be detected with good reliability and obvious dose reduction. There was good consistency in the size of stones and calcifications in hepatobiliary system between VNE images and TNE images, which ensured the possibility of the clinical application of VNE images.

P300/CBP-associated factor(PCAF),an important member of histone acetyltransferase family(HATs) within eukaryotic cells,is capable of inducing the acetylation of histone,promoting the transcription of specific genes and involving in many biological effects.In the present study,full-length cDNA of PCAF was inserted into plasmid pGEX-5x-1,then the soluble protein GST-PCAF was expressed in E.coli BL21(DE3) after the optimization of inducing conditions.The recombinant protein was further purified with affinity chromatography and tested the activity by in vitro acetylation assays.High efficient PCAF protein produced by this method could serve for the study on the role of PCAF in gene regulation and the interaction between PCAF and other proteins.

This study aimed to explore the impacts of Cyclocarya paliurus polysaccharide (CP) on insulin signal pathway in liver cells.H4IIE liver cells of rat that cultivated for 72 h were made up for the model group.H4IIE cells at 70％-80％ confluence were exposed to various concentrations of CP,including 50,100,200 and 400 μg·mL 1,for measuring cell viability using Neutral Red.Based on the results of cell viability,H4IIE cells were divided into the control group,the insulin group (100 nmol·L-1),the low dose CP group (the LCP group,200 μg· mL-1) and the high dose CP group (the HCP group,400 μg· mL-1).After the cultivation of cells for 2 h,mRNA levels were measured by real-time RT-PCR,while phosphorylation levels of target proteins were detected by western blot after the treatment for 30 min.It was found that the cell viability indexes in the cells administered by 100,200 and 400 μg·mL-1 CP increased significantly compared with the control group (P＜0.01).After the administration for 2 h,InsR and IRS-2 mRNA expressions in the insulin group,the LCP group and the HCP group increased (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).After the administration for 30 min,phosphorylation levels of InsRβ,IRS-2 and Akt in the insulin group were higher than those in the HCP group (P＜0.01).In conclusion,CP probably increased the cell viability of H4IIE cells,and improved the blood glucose index through enhancing the mRNA expressions of InsR and IRS-2 and the phosphorylation levels of InsRβ,IRS-2 and Akt in the liver.