Objective To evaluate the relationship between serum matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9), white blood cell(WBC)count and type 2 diabetes mellitus with macroangiopathy and to investigate the mechanism of the protective effects of rusiglitazone(RSG)on blood vessel.Methods Serum MMP-9 was determined by ELISA in 30 normal controls and 80 type 2 diabetic patients(including 40 cases with macroangiopathy and 40 without maeroangiopathy).WBC count and other clinical parameters were also determined.32 type 2 diabetic patients received RSG(4rag qd)for 12 weeks.All parameters were determined after 4 weeks(17 patients)and after 12 weeks(all patients)to observe the changes in MMP-9,WBC and other parameters.Results In the diabetic patients,serum MMP-9 and WBC were markedly higher as compared with normal controls;and MMP-9 and WBC in patients with macroangiopathy[579(440-949)?g/L,(7.51?1.47)?10~9/L]were higher than those [324(275-423)?g/L,(6.22?0.79)?10~9/L]in the cases without macroangiopathy(P

Background The integration of segregated pathways from the two eyes first appears in V1 neurons,where it not only plays a critical role in the generation of a three-dimensional visual representation.Abnormal visual experiences in critical period usually lead to amblyopia and binocular integration defects.Objective Present study was to investigate how neurons of kitten coordinate their activity patterns in response to synchronous dichoptic stimulus inputs in striate cortex.Methods Spike rate and local field potential(LFP) gamma band(20-90Hz) power of three kitten(1-1.2Kg,8-10 weeks old) to monocular and synchronous dichoptic presented gratings were assessed for 28 binocular neurons in V1 of kitten by in vivo extracellular record method under anaesthesia and paralysis.Ocular dominance index(ODI) and binocular integration index(BII) were assessed and the correlation between these two indexes were analyzed.Results In 28 cells with binocular characteristic,the absolute value of spike-ODI was significant larger than that of LFP-ODI(t=2.606,P=0.021).A positive linear correlation between the ocular preferences of spike and LFP was found(R2=0.513,F=27.423,P=0.003).In dichotic trails,binocular facilitation with BII for spike was 2.348±0.996,showing a significant reduce in comparison with BII for LFP(3.678±1.974)(t=2.671,P=0.019).Binocular integration index for two signals were greater when monocular responses of both eyes were similar(P=0.035 and P=0.124,respectively).Conclusion Both spike rate and gamma band power of LFP exhibited binocular facilitation to synchronous presented dichotic stimuli with significant facilitation induced by balanced monocular responses.Spiking activity and LFP reflect neural activities of different spatial scales and source components.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of prenatal stress on neurological functions after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in adult offspring rats.

METHODSPregnant rats were randomly assigned to prenatal stress treatment, which was exposed to restraint three times daily in the last week of pregnancy, and no prenatal stress treatment. Adult male offspring rats were subjected to transient focal cerebral ischemia by MCAO. They were randomly divided into four groups: sham group, prenatal stress + sham group, MCAO group and prenatal stress + MCAO group (n = 10). After 24 hours of reperfusion, the neurological deficits were evaluated. The infarct size, cell apoptosis and expression of Caspase 3, cleaved Caspase 3 and Bcl-2 were detected.

RESULTSCompared with MCAO group, the neurological deficits, infarct size and apoptotic cells in prenatal stress + MCAO group were increased significantly (all P < 0.05). The expressions of Caspase 3 and cleaved Caspase 3 were much greater in prenatal stress + MCAO group than those of MCAO group, while the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly decreased in prenatal stress + MCAO group compared with MCAO group (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONPrenatal stress might exacerbate neuroloeical deficits in the offspring rats after MCAO by increasing cell apoptosis.

Animals ; Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Female ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; physiopathology ; Ischemic Attack, Transient ; physiopathology ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; physiopathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Stress, Physiological

OBJECTIVETo explore action mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Fenglong" (ST 40) for treatment of hyperlipidemia.

METHODSForty SPF-grade SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group (group A), a model group (group B), a model diet-control group (group C), a model + EA group (group D) and model diet-control + EA group (group E), 8 cases in each one. The rats in group A were fed with normal diet continuously while those in the rest 4 groups were fed with high-fat diet to establish hyperlipidemia model. Afterwards, the rats in group C and group E were fed with normal diet, while EA at "Fenglong" (ST 40) was applied in group D and group E, 30 min per time, once a day. After 28 days of treatment, macrophage was collected in each group. Oil red O-staining was applied to detect the formation of foam cells, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISE) was adopted to measure the contents of total cholesterol (TC) in macrophage and analyze the rate of cholesterol efflux.

RESULTSThe counts of positive cells of oil red O-staining and the contents of TC in the group B, group C and group D were significantly increased compared with those in the group A (all P < 0.01). The counts of positive cells and contents of TC in the group C, group D and group E were significantly clecreased compared with those in the group B (all P < 0.01), and the decline in group D was more obvious than that in the group C (all P < 0.01). Compared with group C and group D, the counts of positive cells and contents of TC in the group E was obviously decreased (all P < 0.01), which was not statistically different from group A (P > 0.05). In the meantime, compared with group C, the rate of cholesterol efflux in group D and group E was significantly increased (both P < 0.01), and the rise in group E was more obvious than that in the group D.

CONCLUSIONThe electroacupuncture at "Fenglong" (ST 40) could significantly prohibit the transformation of macrophage into foam cell and increase rate of cholesterol efflux in macrophage, which could prevent and reverse the formation of foam cell and play an essential role in treating hyperlipidemia and stopping it from developing into a further level.

Acupuncture Points ; Animals ; Biological Transport ; Cells, Cultured ; Cholesterol ; metabolism ; Electroacupuncture ; Foam Cells ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; metabolism ; therapy ; Macrophages ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Abstract: Schistosomiasis is a serious major parasitic disease that threatens human life and health. A better understanding of the mechanism of host-schistosome interactions is the key to designing new prevention and control strategies. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small non-coding RNA molecules, which lead to the degradation of the target messenger RNA (mRNA) or inhibition of its translation in a sequence-specific manner. Both schistosome and its host produce miRNAs, which can be secreted by extracellular vesicles (EVs). There is accumulating evidence that miRNAs from schistosome can be taken up by host cells, and finely manipulate the phenotype of host cells for their survival or pathogenesis in a cross-species manner, even inhibiting the growth and metastases of hepatoma cells. It is still unknown whether host free miRNAs can be taken up by schistosome, but this phenomenon is highly probable. miRNA-mediated cross-species regulation has emerged as a novel mechanism for host-schistosome interactions, and this review summarizes the advances in this regard.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Chronic Disease ; Daunorubicin ; adverse effects ; Disease Models, Animal ; Heart Failure ; chemically induced ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To investigate the rate and the population distribution of subjects with indeterminate result of HIV antibody test and to understand the relationships between the western blot(WB)banding patterns and HIV infection through follow-up reexamination. Methods Samples with indeterminate results of HIV antibody test were collected by Jiading Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2013 to 2017. They were used for analysis of the source, the distribution of Western blotting band pattern and the follow-up results. Results Among 698 samples required to be re-tested for confirmation of HIV infection, 151(21.63%)showed indeterminate WB test results. There were 18 types of WB band in 151 HIV antibody-indeterminate samples. The most common band types, accounting for 79.47%, were p24, gp160, and gp160p24. One hundred(among 151)subjects were followed up and the success follow-up rate was 50.00%. Among them, 28(56.00%)samples were still with indeterminate results of HIV antibody, 11(22.00% turned to be negative and 11(22.00%)turned to positive. The follow-up confirmatory tests showed that 67.86% of the samples with p24 band were still with indeterminate results and 40.00% of the samples with gp160 band became HIV antibody-negative. The samples with one of the three band patterns of gp160gp120p24, gp160p24p17 and gp160gp120p66p51 all became HIV antibody-positive. Conclusion The detection rate of indeterminate HIV antibody results varies in different populations. Positive conversion rates with different WB band patterns are different. Follow-up of the populations with specific WB band patterns should be strengthened to detect HIV infection cases as early as possible.

Objective To investigate the sexual behavior types, condom use and influencing factors of gonorrhea patients in Yunnan Province, and to provide evidence for the adjustment of sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention and control strategy. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate gonorrhea patients in 14 STD clinics in 7 more prevalent prefectures (cities) of Yunnan Province. A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the socio-demographic and sexual characteristics of the patients in a one-to-one way. Multiple Logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of sexual behavior. Results A total of 179 cases of gonorrhea were investigated. The average age was (29.01±8.93) years old. 95.53% (171/179) patients were 40 years old and 88.27% were male patients (158/179). Unmarried patients accounted for 55.31% (99/179). Service and self-employed patients accounted for 34.64% (62/179) and 23.46% (42/179) respectively. The rate of sexual intercourse with opposite sex was 98.32% (176/179), the rate of men who have sex with men was 1.68% (3/179) and the rate of having more than two sexual partners was 27.93% (50/179). The rate of sexual intercourse between temporary partners, spouses/fixed partners and commercial partners were 53.07% (95/179), 37.99% (68/179) and 8.94% (16/179) respectively. Recent sexual activity had lower condom use rate, 17.89% (17/95), 19.12% (13/68) and 18.75% (3/16) respectively. The main ways for gonorrhea patients to make temporary partners were friend introductions or gatherings, accounting for 66.32% (63/95). Condom use in male patients was worse than that in female patients (OR=0.234, 95% CI: 0.084-0.656, P=0.006). Conclusions The patients with gonorrhea were mainly unmarried young adults. The main risk behaviors were unprotected behaviors between heterosexual temporary and spouse/fixed sexual partners. The condom use consciousness was generally low. The promotion of safe sex education for young adults should be further strengthened, with special attention to the use of condoms for temporary sexual behavior and spouse/fixed sexual intercourse.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the constitution and health status of the Beijing residents, and the primary influencing factors on nutrition and health, as to finding out the epidemiological characters and the changing trend of chronic diseases and to establish scientific basis for the establishment of public health and disease prevention policies of Beijing.

METHODSA stratified multi-stage cluster randomly sampling method was used. In total, 18 districts were surveyed, and among them, 9 were conducted dietary survey. The investigation was based on household, and all family members were surveyed at their home. After having got the compliance from the family members, question asking, medical examination, laboratory test and dietary investigation were carried out in these people.

RESULTSThe incidence rate of hypertension was 25.0% for the resident > or = 15 year-old, and over 50% for middle-aged and elderly people (> or = 45 years old). The incidence of diabetes for those not younger than 15 years old was 7.7%. The over-weight rate and the obesity rate for adults were 35.1% and 20.6%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe following risk factors of chronic disease, such as unreasonable diet pattern, deficient intake of some micronutrients, over-weight and obesity, lack of physical examination, smoking and over-drinking, should be the important factors influencing the health of Beijing residents severely.

China ; epidemiology ; Diabetes Mellitus ; epidemiology ; Female ; Health Status ; Humans ; Hypertension ; epidemiology ; Incidence ; Life Style ; Male ; Nutritional Status ; Obesity ; epidemiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE12-0-tetradecanoylphorbol-13 acetate (TPA) plays an important role in precipitating cell differentiation for various tumor cells, especially leukemic cells. Changes of many genes may be involved in this process. The purpose of this study was to observe the relationship between the EGR1mRNA expression and cell differentiation during TPA-induced K562 cell differentiation.

METHODSIncubation of human K562 cells in vitro was applied to cultivate K562 cells. The cells were treated in two different ways. K562 cells of experiment group were treated with TPA and those of control group were treated without TPA. Using morphology (Wright's staining and NSE staining) and flow cytometry (FCM), the investigators observed the differentiation characteristics of K562 cells, cell-cycle and the differentiation antigen expressions of CD33 and CD14 on cell membranes. RT-PCR was carried out to assay EGR1 mRNA expression.

RESULTSAfter treated with TPA for 7 d, the morphology of K562 cells obviously tended to mature differentiation, like monocytes. The differentiation rate of induced K562 cells was up to 95% in experiment group and 4.5% in control group, respectively. Using SPSS software, the above result showed statistical significance (P < 0.01). Using NSE staining, K562 cells showed positive reaction. Some of them were densely stained. The positive rate was up to 86%. More than half of the positive cells could be inhibited by NaF. The inhibiting rate of NaF was up to 58.72%, showing statistical difference when compared with that of control group. FCM analysis showed that most of K562 cells stimulated by TPA underwent G1/S phase cell-cycle arrest. The composing rate of cell-cycle in TPA-treated group showed that (53.7 +/- 1.25)% of cells were at G0 + G1 phase and (44.3 +/- 1.32)% were at S phase (P < 0.05). The level of CD33 expression on cell membranes was mildly decreased from 0.997% to 0.893% (P > 0.05). However, the level of CD14 expression was significantly increased from 0.049% to 0.387% (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONK562 cells could express EGR1mRNA during TPA-induced differentiation, which suggested that EGR1mRNA might participate in the process of K562 cells differentiating into monocyte/macrophages, and might play an important role in precipitating and maintaining cell differentiation for leukemic cells.

Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic ; metabolism ; Carcinogens ; pharmacology ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; genetics ; Cell Differentiation ; drug effects ; genetics ; Cell Division ; drug effects ; genetics ; Cell Membrane ; chemistry ; drug effects ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; Early Growth Response Protein 1 ; Flow Cytometry ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; drug effects ; Humans ; Immediate-Early Proteins ; genetics ; K562 Cells ; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 3 ; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate ; pharmacology ; Transcription Factors ; genetics