Objective To understand the effect of environmental risk factors exposed in the first trimester of pregnancy on congenital heart disease, then provide scientific evidence for congenital heart disease prevention. Methods A hospital-based 1:1 matched case-control study was conducted. The risk factors were obtained by field investigation with standardized questionnaires. The data was dealt with single factor analysis and conditional Logistic regression using SPSS version 11.5. Results Folic acid(OR=0.340, 95%CI: 0.178-0.649), milk(OR=0.660, 95%CI: 0.460-0.947), meat(OR=0.771, 95%CI: 0.583-0.867) and nausea and vomiting of pregnancy(OR=0.457, 95%CI: 0.271-0.770)were significantly associated with congenital heart disease. Maternal infection(OR=2.736, 95%CI: 1.462-5.121), taking medicine(OR=2.735, 95%CI: 1.483-5.044), poisonous chemicals(OR=2.764, 95%CI: 1.065-7.177) and mental stress(OR=2.211, 95%CI: 1.022-4.782) were risk factors of congenital heart disease. Conclusion To prevent congenital heart diseases, pregnant women should take more nutriment, keep healthy state and avoid infecting, taking medicine and exposing chemical toxicants in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Previous work from this laboratory has cloned a novel gene NOR1 and showed its extensive expression in normal tissues and down-regulation in carcinomas. To further investigate its downstream target genes and better understand its function, NOR1 was over-expressed in HepG2 hepatoma cells and global changes in gene expressions from a stable line were identified by cDNA microarrays. The results discovered 59 genes up-regulated in these cells compared with the original cells, including Grb2, HBP17,TNFRSF11B genes that have been implicated in tumorigenesis and cancer development. In addition, 103 down-regalated genes were also identified, including genes encoding Bik, MAP2K6 and ZFP95 proteins. The expression patterns of certain genes identified by microarrays were validated by quantitative real-time PCR and the results showed that expression difference were statistically significant (P< 0.05). These data suggest that NOR1 may influence the biology and cancerous behaviors of HepG2 cells by regulating expression of a set of genes involved in signal traasduction, cell cycle regulation, transcription and Wanslation controls.

Objective To construct the eukaryotic expression vector of pcDNA3.1(+)/NOR1 and analyze the effect of NOR1 on the liver cancer cells. Methods NOR1cDNA was cloned into eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1(+), recombinant eukaryotic expressing plasmid pcDNA3.1(+)/NOR1 was transiently introduced into human liver cancer cell line HepG2 mediated by cation iron lipofectamin.The biology effect of NOR1 on the liver cancer cells was analyzed through the MTT test, trypan blue exclusion assay and flowcytometric analysis. Results The eukaryotic expression vector of pcDNA3.1(+)/NOR1 was successfully constructed.The liver cancer cell growth rate was obviously slow after it was transfected by recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1(+)/NOR1 and the cell cycle from G0/G1 to S distinctly prolong.Conclusions Recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1(+)/NOR1 can express in HepG2 cells and affect the growth of HepG2 cells.

OBJECTIVE To explore the role of runt-related transcription factor 3(RUNX3) in the tumorgenesis and progression of cervical carcinoma. METHODS The immunohistochemical staining technique was used to detect the expression of RUNX3 protein in 25 cases of normal cervix, 34 intraepithelia neoplasia (CIN), and 48 cervical carcinomas. SYBR Green I chimeric fluorescence Real-time PCR was applied to detect the expression of RUNX3 mRNA in 10 cases of normal cervix, 24 CIN, and 30 cervical carcinomas. RESULTS The expressions of RUNX3 protein and mRNA in normal cervix, CINI,CINII-III, and cervical carcinoma tissues tended to be down-regulated. There was significant difference among these groups (P<0.05). The expressions of RUNX3 protein and mRNA in the cervical carcinoma tissues were correlated with the histological differentiation, clinical stage, and lymphatic metastasis (P<0.05), but had no relationship with the age, high-risk human papillomavirus infection, and histological classification (P> 0.05). CONCLUSION RUNX3 may function as a tumor suppressor gene in the occurrence and progression of cervical carcinoma.
Adult ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 3 Subunit ; genetics ; metabolism ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism