ObjectiveTo study the characteristic of apoptosis and the expression of interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and caspase-3, as well as the relation among them after spinal cord injury(SCI) in rats.MethodsAdult SD rats were divided into two groups randomly: sham group and spinal cord injury group. The rats were killed at 1 h, 8 h, 24 h, and 72h after surgery. The expression of IL-1β and caspase-3 was determined with immunohistochemistry and the apoptosis was labeled by TUNEL.ResultsThere was only a few cells that expressed low level IL-1β and caspase-3 in sham group, but they both enhanced in SCI group within 8 h after operation, and then decreased to the level similar to sham group 72 h after operation. The rates of TUNEL-positive cells were similar with that of IL-1β and caspase-3 after SCI. There was positive correlation among expression of IL-1β and caspase-3 and apoptosis index.ConclusionExpression of IL-1β and caspase-3 increase and a large number of TUNEL-positive cells present after SCI in rats, and there is positive correlation among them.

Background Congenital fibrosis of extraocular muscles (CFEOM) affects patient' s appearance and quality of life,and no effective treatment for this disease is available.Imaging study is helpful for exploring the pathogenesis of CFEOM.Objective This study was to describe the characteristics of CFEOM associated with limb movement disorder using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Methods A family with CFEOM associated with limb movement disorder was investigated in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University.Disease history was collected and the pedigree was investigated.Ophthalmologic examinations,including corrected visual acuity,refractive error,slitlamp examination,ophthalmoscopic examination,force of levator palpebrae superioris,ocular movement,eye position,forced duction test,and bell phenomenon examination,were performed.Ocular orbital and cranial MRI was performed in 4 CFEOM patients and 10 normal subjects to compare the structures of the extraocular muscles,motor nerve and cranium.Oral informed consent was obtained from each patient prior to any medical examination.Results A total of 1 1 members from 3 generations were investigated in this study,presenting with 4 cases of disease.The mode of inheritance of this family complied with the Mendelian autosomal dominant inheritance law.Clinical signs included disturbance of eye movement,deviation of eye position,ptosis,lack of Bell sign and positive reaction of passive pull test.In addition,unstable gait,improper body limb alignment,dysphasia and mental retardation were ohserved in 1 patient,which coincided with the diagnostic criteria of type 3 CFEOM.MRI results demonstrated that the levator palpebrae superioris,superior rectus and superior oblique muscle were clearly thinner,and the medial rectus,lateral rectus,inferior rectus muscle were thinning in the patients,showing significant differences in comparison with the normal controls(P＜O.05).The oculomotor and abducens nerves became thinner and even absent in the patients.Cranial MRI showed that Ⅲ-3 in the pedigree with callosum was shorter than that of the normal controls,suggesting that patient suffered from corpus callosum hypoplasia.Meanwhile,cranial MRI indicated the presence of cerebellar hypoplasia and the expansion of the fourth ventricle.Conclusions MRI demonstrates consistent abnormalities of the oculomotor nerves and abducens nerves in the affected individuals in this CFEOM 3 family,and some affected members exhibit two types of central nervous system abnormalities-corpus callosum and cerebellar hypoplasia.These findings suggest that CFEOM 3 is primarily a neuronal disease.

96%).There are 14 nucleotide mutations between yak and cattle and 3 of that were predicted to alter the protein sequence,both of which occurred in the domain III.Construction of molecular phylogenetic tree shows:The cluster results coincided with the traditional taxonomy.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of controlled hypotension using different drugs on gastrointestinal perfusion and bleeding volume in nasal endoscopic surgery.

METHODSThirty ASA class I or II patients scheduled for nasal endoscopic surgery were randomized into three groups, including a routine general anesthesia group (group A) and two controlled hypotension groups (groups B and C). After anesthesia induction, anesthesia was maintained with 1%-2% isoflurane and vecuronium. ECG, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), SpO(2) and PETCO(2) were continuously monitored. TRIP tonometry catheter 14 F was inserted into the stomach and connected to Tonocap (Datex-Ohmeda, Finland ). In groups B and C, hypotension was induced with isoflurane (1%-2%) and sodium nitroprusside (0.3-3 microg.kg(-1).min(-1)), and with isoflurane (1%-2%) and glonoine (0.5-5 microg.kg(-1).min(-1)), respectively, and the MAP was reduced to 50-55 mmHg in 10-15 min. In groups B and C, blood samples were taken for blood gas analysis after anesthesia (T(0)), after acute hypervolemic hemodilution (T(1)), at 30 and 60 min after controlled hypotension (T(2) and T(3)), and 30 min after recovery from hypotension (T(4)). In group A, blood samples were taken at different time points in the perioperative period.

RESULTSThe patients in groups B and C had smaller bleeding volume than those in group A. HR was decreased after moderate acute hypervolemic hemodilution, and increased after controlled hypotension (T(2) and T(3)) in comparison with that at T(1) to a level similar to that at T(0). No significant changes were found in pHi at T(2) and T(3) in comparison with that at T(1) in the three groups.

CONCLUSIONWhen appropriate measures are taken, induced hypotension at 50-55 mmHg does not necessarily produce disturbance in gastrointestinal perfusion. Induced hypotension with glonoin can decrease the bleeding volume better than sodium nitroprusside in nasal endoscopic surgery.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Blood Loss, Surgical ; prevention & control ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Hemodilution ; methods ; Humans ; Hypotension, Controlled ; methods ; Intestines ; blood supply ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nitroglycerin ; therapeutic use ; Nitroprusside ; therapeutic use ; Paranasal Sinuses ; surgery ; Young Adult

To construct the Bac-to-Bac expression system of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), a transfer vector was constructed which contained an Escherichia coli (E. coli) mini-F replicon and a lacZ: attTN7: lacZ cassette within the upstream and downstream regions of the BmNPV polyhedrin gene. B. mori larvae were cotransfected with wild-type BmNPV genomic DNA and the transfer vector through subcutaneous injection to generate recombinant viruses by homologous recombination in vivo. The genomic DNA of budded viruses extracted from the hemolymph of the transfected larvae was used to transform E. coli DH10B. Recombinant bacmids were screened by kanamycin resistance, PCR and restriction enzyme (REN) digestion. One of the bacmid colonies, BmBacJS13, which had similar REN profiles to that of wild-type BmNPV, was selected for further research. To investigate the infectivity of BmBacJS13, the polyhedrin gene was introduced into the bacmid and the resultant recombinant (BmBacJS13-ph) was transfected to BmN cells. The budded viruses were collected from the supernatant of the transfected cells and used for infecting BmN cells. Growth curve analysis indicated that BmBacJS13-ph had a similar growth curve to that of wild-type BmNPV. Bio-assays indicated that BmBacJS13-ph was also infectious to B. mori larvae.

Background Human limbal allograft transplantation or limbal autograft transplantation are the primary approaches to the severe corneal-blindness,but their application in clinic were limited because of the defects of donor material.With the development of tissue engineering technology,transplantation of in vitro cultured limbal epithelial stem cells is being an advanced management.Objective The aim of this work was to expand human limbal epithelial stem cells ex vivo under the guidance of confocal microscope and to lay the foundation for fabricating ex vivo cultured cell sheets.Methods Ten eyes of ten patients were examined with the Heidelberg Retina Tomography Ⅲ Rostock Cornea Module(HRT3-RCM)to elucidate the structure of the human corneoscleral limbus and to correlate limbal epithelial dimensions.According to the analysis of the images of limbal epithelia,the limbal tissues provided by Eye Bank of Henan Eye Institute were cut into suitable explants.Then,this study was conducted to expand limbal epithelial stem cells ex vivo on denuded amniotic membrane.The phenotypes of primary cultured cells were evaluated by morphology and immunofluorescent staining with antibodies for limbal epithelial stem cell markers (p63,cytokeratinl9)and differentiation markers(keratin 3,involucrin).This experimental procedure was approved by the Ethic Committee of Henan Provincial People's Hospital.The written informed consent was obtained from subjects before initiation of any examination.Results The palisade morphology of human limbus was imaged clearly on the laser scanning in vivo confocal microscopy and many hyperreflective cells were observed in palisade basal cells.The cell-island phenomenon was seen in the basement membrane under the laser scanning in vivo confocal microscopy.The oblique sections of limbus showed many papilla-like epithelial columns below the superficial limbal epithelia.Throughout the experiment duration,the epithelial cells grew well with the migration rates from limbal tissue (68.62± 16.94)％ and the migration time(5.83 ±2.04)days,which depended on the tissue freshness.Compared with the second and forth batch of tissue,the migration rates of the third and sixth batch of tissues were significantly higher(P＜0.05),and the migration time was evidently longer in the forth and sixth batch of tissue compared with the first,second,third and fifth batch(P＜0.05).The positively expressing rates in the cultured corneal stem cells were 4.05％ and 36.52％ for p63,26.07％ and 40.55％ for CK19,57.88％ and 40.81％ for K3,64.66％ and 59.19％ for involucrin.Conclusion Human limbal epithelial stem cells can be successfully and purposefully obtained from the limbal tissue based on the guidance confocal miscroscope.The cultured corneal stem cells can grow well on the denuded amniotic membrane

OBJECTIVETo study the electromyographic and genetic characteristics in children with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1 (CMT1).

METHODSRoutine electromyography and nerve conduction were performed in 24 children with CMT1. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with restriction enzyme digestion was used to detect gene duplication on chromosome 17p11.2-12. Ten healthy children served as the control group.

RESULTSThe peripheral nerve conduction velocity slowed or disappeared in all of the 24 patients (100%). The lesions of the sensory nerves were more severe than the motor nerves, and the lesions of the lower limbs were more severe than the upper limbs. Of 72 muscles detected, 40 (56%) showed neurogenic lesions. The older the patients, the more severe the muscle lesions. Specific junction fragments (1760 bp) were identified in 13 (54%) out of 24 patients, but were not identified in the healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONSThe electromyographic changes are characterized by peripheral nerve conduction velocities slowing and neurogenic lesions of muscles in children with CMT1. The PCR combined with restriction enzyme digestion may be a simple and accurate method for gene diagnosis of CMT1.

Adolescent ; Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease ; genetics ; physiopathology ; Child ; Electromyography ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Neural Conduction

Migration of metallic foreign body into the cerebral circulation is rarely seen. Most of the cases reported were due to gunshot wounds and shotgun wounds to the neck and face. When the foreign body is near the great vessel, it must be removed immediately or will cause complications. This study reported a case of delayed metallic foreign body embolus to the ophthalmic artery resulting from an injury to the right neck, which arose from the presence of metallic emboli to the cerebral circulation.
Adult ; Embolism ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Foreign Bodies ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Neck Injuries ; complications ; surgery ; Ophthalmic Artery ; injuries ; pathology ; surgery ; Wounds, Penetrating ; complications

OBJECTIVETo assess the effect of RNA interference-mediated gene silencing of plasma membrane-related Ca(2+)-ATPase-1 (PMR1) gene on the insulin secretion in islet beta cells NIT-1 in vitro.

METHODSA small interfering RNA duplex (siPMR1) corresponding to the nucleotides 337-357 of mouse PMR1 cDNA was introduced into NIT-1 cells via liposomes. The gene silencing effect was assessed by RT-PCR, and the total insulin level in the transfected cells was measured by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTSTransfection with siPMR1 resulted in obviously reduced PMR1 expression and increased insulin secretion in NIT-1 cells.

CONCLUSIONThe synthesized siPMR1 can significantly silence the expression of PMR1 and promote the secretion of insulin in the islet cells in vitro, which shed light on further studies of RNAi-based therapy of diabetes.

Animals ; Calcium-Transporting ATPases ; deficiency ; genetics ; Cell Line ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Insulin ; secretion ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; metabolism ; secretion ; Mice ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the incidence, case fatality and risk factors of acute cerebral arterial thrombosis complicated by multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS).

METHODSA retrospective study was conducted in 830 patients with acute cerebral arterial thrombosis, among whom 89 also developed MODS.

RESULTSThe incidence of MODS in these patients was 10.7% with case fatality of 58.4%. The presence of concurrent infection and increased number of organ involved both resulted in higher case fatality. The preceding health status, number of failing organs and score of neurologic impairment were the main fetal factors according to logistic regression analysis.

CONCLUSIONMODS usually occurs in two weeks after the onset of acute cerebral arterial thrombosis. Prevention of MODS involves rigorous treatment of the compromised organs and comprehensive systemic therapy in addition to the management of the primary diseases.

Cerebral Arterial Diseases ; complications ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; mortality ; Female ; Humans ; Intracranial Thrombosis ; complications ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; mortality ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Organ Failure ; complications ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; mortality ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors