Aluminum Compounds ; toxicity ; Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Cerebral Cortex ; cytology ; drug effects ; Chlorides ; toxicity ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Neurons ; cytology ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

To observe the effect of intracarotid administration of endothelin (ET-1) on electrical activity of neurons within rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) region, 87 spontaneous active units were extracellularly recorded in 35 Sprague-Dawley rats with sino-aortic denervation. The results obtained are as follows. (1) Intracarotid administration of ET-1 (0.3nmol/kg) increased the discharge firing rate from 17.8±1.5 to 20.9±1.4 spikes/s (P<0.01) in 30 out of 36 RVLM neurons, while blood pressure and heart rate had no significant change. (2) BQ-123 (0.67nmol/kg), a selective ETA blocker, completely blocked the facilitatory effects of ET-1 in 11 out of 14 units. (3) In 10 out of 11 units, glibenclamide (3.3 nmol/kg), a blocker of ATP-sensitive potassium channel, had no effect on the action of ET-1. (4) After ablation of area postrema (AP), the facilitatory action of intracarotid administration of ET-1 on 19 units of RVLM was abolished, while in 7 units of sham ablation animals the response of neurons to ET-1 remained unchanged. Taken together, intracarotid-administered ET-1 may act on the ETA receptors in neurons of AP, thereby resulting in the facilitating effect on RVLM neurons through the efferent projection of AP.

AIMTo study the effect of atropine, muscarinic cholinergic antagonist, on the central analgesic action of melatonin (MT) and to explore the mechanism of MT analgesia.

METHODSAs an indicator of visceral pain, the unit discharges of the neurons in the posterior group of thalamic nuclei (PO) were caused by stimulating the great splanchnic nerve (GSN) of the cat. The cranial stereotaxic and extracellular glass microelectrode record technique were used. The drugs were given through the intra-cranial-ventricle (icv).

RESULTS0.1% MT (10 micrograms.kg-1, icv) was shown to inhibit the unit discharge of the neurons in PO of the cat, whether the long latency or the short latency, which was evoked by stimulating GSN. The inhibition of 0.1% MT (10 micrograms.kg-1, icv) on the short latency discharge of neurons in PO was antagonized by 0.1% atropine (20 micrograms, icv). However, 0.1% atropine (20 micrograms, icv) did not show antagonistic effect on the inhibition of 0.1% morphine (5 micrograms, icv) at the same latency.

CONCLUSIONMT exhibited central analgesic action with mechanism different from morphine. It was suggested that the cholinergic system may be involved in analgesic process of MT.

Analgesics ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Atropine ; pharmacology ; Cats ; Electric Stimulation ; Evoked Potentials ; drug effects ; Female ; Injections, Intraventricular ; Male ; Melatonin ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Morphine ; pharmacology ; Muscarinic Antagonists ; pharmacology ; Neurons ; physiology ; Splanchnic Nerves ; physiology ; Thalamic Nuclei ; drug effects ; physiology

Objective To study the relationship between the choice of operation and the efficacy on hepa- tolithiasis.Methods From Januray of 1995 to December of 2006,89 patients with hepatolithiasis underwent surgical treatment were retrospectively analyzed.Of them 33 cases underwent hepaticoplasty,hepatolobectomy in 7 cases, cholangiojejunostomy in 22 cases,choledocholithotomy with T-tube drainage in 27 cases.Results Out of the 89 cas- es,follow-up was completed in 81 cases for 6 months to 12 years.The postoperative stone residual rate of the group which underwent hepaticoplasty was 15.15 %(5/33)and cholannitis recurrence rate was 12.50 %(4/32),hepa- tolobecromy was 14.29%(1/7)and 16.67%(1/6),cholangiojejunostomy was 18.18%(4/22)and 30%(6/20), choledocholithotomy with T-tube drainage was 33.33 %(9/27)and 29.17 %(7/24).Conclusion Hepaticoplasty and hepatolobecromy were superior to cholangiojejunostomy and choledocholithotomy with T-tube drainage for treat- ment of hepatolithiasis.

Animals ; Aorta ; drug effects ; physiology ; Blood Pressure ; drug effects ; Cadmium ; toxicity ; Female ; In Vitro Techniques ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; drug effects ; physiology ; Rabbits ; Vasoconstriction ; drug effects

The effects of microinjection of adenosine (Ado) into area postrema (AP) on mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR) and renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) were examined in 53 anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. The results obtained are as follows. (1) Following microinjection of Ado (1 ng/60 nl) into AP, MAP, HR and RSNA were decreased from 13.76±0.46 kPa, 356.28±4.25 bpm and 100±0% to 11.23±0.49 kPa (P<0.001), 336.91±5.23 bpm (P<0.01) and 70.95±5.19% (P<0.001), respectively; (2) 8-phenyltheophylline (150 μg/kg, 0.2 ml,iv), a nonselective adenosine receptor antagonist, and 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (500 μg/kg, 0.2 ml, iv), a selective A1 adenosine receptor antagonist, blocked the inhibitory effect of Ado completely; and (3) glibenclamide (5 mg/kg, 0.2 ml, iv), a blocker of ATP-sensitive potassium channel, also abolished the effect of Ado. The above results indicate that microinjection of Ado into AP induces inhibitory effects on MAP, HR and RSNA, which may be related to activation of ATP-sensitive potassium channels mediated by A1 receptors.

98 endophytic bacteria strains were isolated from different internal tissues of Glycyrrhiza uralensis plants collected from Innermongolia region. Results indicated that the population densities of endophytic bacteria ranged from 5.0?104cfu/g～2.9?107cfu/g fresh weight although it varied depending on tissue of the plant. Among these strains, Bacillus sp. was the most prevalent endophytic bacterium, which was amount to 30%.Of the 98 isolates, 6 strains exhibited extensive antagonistic activities against pathogenic bacteria. Characterization showed that these bacteria were Bacillus atrophaeus、Paenibacillus polymyxa、Bacillus subtilis、Paenibacillus ehimensis. This study indicated that selected 6 endophytic bacteria strains have potential for biological control of plant disease.

AIM:To investigate the clinical effect of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs combined with laser photocoagulation for diabetic macular edema (DME).METHODS: Totally 94 patients (141 eyes) with DME from June to December 2015 in our hospital were selected and randomly divided into combined group of 47 cases (68 eyes, ranibizumab combined with laser therapy) and the control group of 47 cases (73 eyes, laser treatment).The levels of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), macular central retinal thickness (CRT), total macular volume (TMV) and macular edema level were compared between the two groups at different time after treatment.RESULTS: The mean values of BCVA in the combined group were higher than those in the control group at 2, 6 and 12wk, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).At 2, 6 and 12wk after treatment, the CRT and TMV values of the combined group were lower than those of the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).After treated for 12wk, patients with macular edema of combined group was 80.9% in mild level, 17.7% in moderate level, 1.5% in severe level, those of the control group was 60.0%, 31.5%, 5.5%, the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The effect of anti-VEGF drugs combined with laser therapy for DME patients is better than that of single laser therapy alone.

OBJECTIVETo study the role and mechanisms of STAT3 signaling pathway in hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) of neonatal rats.

METHODSEighty 7-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups: HI and sham-operated (n=40 each). The rats in the HI group were subjected to right carotid artery ligation and subsequent hypoxia exposure (8% O2) for 2.5 hours, and the rats in the sham-operated group underwent the right carotid artery dissection without subsequent ligation or hypoxia treatment. Brain tissue samples were collected at 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 hours after operation and hypoxic exposure. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to detect the expression of STAT3, phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins. TUNEL staining was used to detect apoptotic cells.

RESULTSNo significant difference in STAT3 expression was observed at all time points between the HI and sham-operated groups (P>0.05). Compared with the sham-operated group, the expression of p-STAT3 protein in the HI group was significantly upregulated at 4, 6, 8, 12 hours after operation and hypoxic exposure, and peaked at 6 hours (P<0.01). The VEGF expression in the HI group was higher than that in the sham-operated group at all time points, which peaked at 8 hours (P<0.05). TUNEL staining showed that the apoptotic cells increased significantly in a time-dependent manner compared with the sham-operated group (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSHI may lead to phosphorylation of STAT3 which probably induces the VEGF expression in the brain of neonatal rats. The activated STAT3 signaling pathway may be involved in the apoptosis regulation of nerve cells, and related to apoptosis inhibition of nerve cells.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Female ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; metabolism ; Male ; Phosphorylation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; physiology ; Signal Transduction ; physiology ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; analysis

OBJECTIVETo explore the mechanism of arsenic trioxide (ATO) in enhancing radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients.

METHODSSeventy-four patients with NPC of T(1-4) N(0-1)M0 were randomized into two groups: 35 patients in Group A were treated with conventional radiotherapy alone, and the 39 in Group B received radiotherapy and additional administering of ATO. The regressions of nasopharyngeal lesions and cervical lymph nodes were compared between the two groups at 40 Gy of radiation was given. And biopsy of the tissue from NPC was taken before treatment and 24 h after radiation of 20 Gy to determine the-expressions of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Bcl-2, Bax and p53 protein by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSWhen irradiation for 40 Gy, the completely regression rates of nasopharyngeal lesion were 20.0% (7/35) in Group A and 43.6% (17/39) in Group B, showing significant difference between them (chi2 = 4.684, P = 0.003), but no significant difference was shown between the two groups in regression rate of cervical lymph node. Expression of PCNA, Bax, Bcl-2 and p53 protein was reduced in both groups, but significant difference only showed between pre- and post-treatment in PCNA (Z = -2.449, P = 0.014) and Bax protein (Z = -3.031, P = 0.002) in Group B. Significantly reduction of PCNA (Z = -2.656, P = 0.008), Bax (Z = -2.359, P = 0.018) and p53 protein (Z = -1.999, P = 0.046) in patients with complete tumor regression at radiation for 20 Gy, while in those with no complete tumor regression only PCNA showed significant reduction (Z = -32.815, P = 0.015).

CONCLUSIONATO shows effect in enhancing radiotherapy on NPC patients, its mechanism might be associated with the down-regulation of PCNA and apoptosis related protein and the inhibition on tumor proliferation and apoptosis inducing.

Adult ; Aged ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Arsenicals ; therapeutic use ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; radiotherapy ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; radiotherapy ; Oxides ; therapeutic use ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; biosynthesis ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; biosynthesis ; Radiation-Sensitizing Agents ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; biosynthesis