Objective To investigate the effects of sevoflurane pretreatment on renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced apoptosis in kidney in rats. Methods Thirty pathogen-free male SD rats weighing 220-260 g were randomized into 3 groups (n=10 each):group control (group C);group I/R and group sevoflurane(group S). Renal I/R was induced by clamping the left renal pedicle for 45 min in I/R and S groups. In group S inhalation of 2.2% sevoflurane in O2 was started at 30 min before operation and maintained throughout the experiment.Venous blood samples were taken at 3 h of reperfusion for determination of serum BUN and Cr concentrations. The animals were then sacrificed and the left kidneys were removed for microscopic examination, detection of apoptosis(by TUNEL)and determination of heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) mRNA and protein expression (by RT-PCR and Western blot).Results Renal I/R significantly increased serum BUN and Cr concentrations, apoptotic index(percentage of apoptotic cells) and the severity of necrosis of renal proximal convoluted tubules (0=normal,4=necrosis of whole segment of proximal convoluted tubules).Sevoflurane inhalation attenuated the I/R-induced changes mentioned above.HO-1 mRNA and protein expression was up-regulated by I/R and HO-1 mRNA expression was further up-regulated by sevoflurane inhalation.Conclusion Sevoflurane pretreatment can protect kidney against I/R injury by attenuating cell apoptosis.Up-regulation of HO-1 mRNA expression may be involved in the mechanism.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Gonadotropins ; blood ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Sex Factors ; Time Factors

A phytochemical investigation on the stems of Garcinia bracteata collected from Xishuangbanna resulted in the isolation of a new flavone. By analysis of the HRESIMS, IR, UV, 1D and 2D NMR spectra, the structure of the new compound was determined as 7-methoxy-4',6-dihydroxy-8-isobutyryl-flavone(1). Compound 1 was also tested for its anti-tobacco mosaic virus(TMV) activity. Results suggested the 1 possessed remarkable anti-TMV activity, with an inhibition rate of 28.2%.
Antiviral Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Flavones ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Garcinia ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Tobacco Mosaic Virus ; drug effects ; growth & development

A new phenylpropanoid (1), together with seven known ones (2-8), has been isolated from the flowers of Rosa rugosa collected from Shanxi province by using various chromatographic techniques. Compound 1 is a new compound, and it displayed cytotoxicity against NB4, SH-SY5Y, PC3, A549 and MCF7 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 8.2, 6.2, 4.3, 2.8, and 9.6 µmol · L⁻¹ respectively.
Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Humans ; Molecular Structure ; Phenylethyl Alcohol ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Rosa ; chemistry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization

Orthodenticlehomeobox 1 (OTX1) overexpression had previously been associated with the progression of several tumors. The present study aimed to determine the expression and role of OTX1 in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The expression level of OTX1 was examined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) in 10 samples of HCC and paired adjacent non-cancerous tissues, and by immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis in 128 HCC samples and matched controls. The relationship between OTX1 expression and the clinicopathological features werealso analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of OTX1 knockdown on cell proliferation and migration were determined in HCC cell lines. Axenograft mouse model was also established to investigate the role of OTX1 in HCC tumor growth. TheqRT-PCR and IHC analyses revealed that OTX1 was significantly elevated in HCC tissues compared with the paired non-cancerous controls. Expression of OTX1 was positively correlated with nodal metastasis status (P = 0.009) and TNM staging (P = 0.001) in HCC tissues. In addition, knockdown of OTX1 by shRNA significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration, and induced cell cycle arrest in S phase in vitro. Tumor growth was markedly inhibited by OTX1 silencing in the xenograft. Moreover, OTX1 silencing was causable for the decreased phosphorylation level of ERK/MAPK signaling. In conclusion, OTX1 contributes to HCC progression possibly by regulation of ERK/MAPK pathway. OTX1 may be a novel target for molecular therapy towards HCC.
Aged ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/metabolism/*pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Liver/metabolism/pathology ; Liver Neoplasms/metabolism/*pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Otx Transcription Factors/antagonists & inhibitors/genetics/*metabolism ; Phosphorylation ; RNA Interference ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; S Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Transplantation, Heterologous

mPem, a homeobox gene, is expressed in a time and stage specific manner during murine ontogeny. Pem transcripts are abundant in 7- and 8-day mouse embryos, but decrease precipitously thereafter. On Day 9 they become abundant in placenta and yolk sac, persisting there until parturition. Although Pem transcripts are not detectable in most of adult tissues, they are present in reproductive system such as testis, epididymis and ovary. This indicates a important role for Pem during embryogenesis and reproductive development. To study the function of mPem protein, we used a GAL4 based yeast two-hybrid assay to screen a 7-day mouse embryo library with full-length of mPem. 3 proteins were found interacting with mPem protein. One of theses is Mdfic. We confirmed the interaction between mPem and Mdfic in yeast and in vitro. Mdfic, MyoD family inhibitor domain containing, encodes the myoD family inhibitor domain (I-mfa domain). The interaction between mPem and Mdfic suggested they maybe form the transcriptional regulator complex to regulate embryo differentiation.
Animals ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Embryonic Development ; Female ; Genes, Homeobox ; genetics ; Homeodomain Proteins ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Mice ; Pregnancy ; Protein Binding ; Transcription Factors ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Two-Hybrid System Techniques

A novel polymerase-based electrochemiluminescence DNA sensor was constructed for messenger RNA (mRNA) detection by cyclic chain displacement polymerization,assisted by target mRNA cycle,and quantum dots signal amplification.Firstly,the mercapto-modified capture-type capture DNA (CP) was immobilized on the surface of a magneto-controlled glassy carbon electrode via Au-S bond.After adding the target mRNA,CP was opened and hybridized with mRNA to form dsDNA.After adding polymerase,primer chain (DNA1) and the base,the primer chain was extended to replace the target mRNA.After one cycle,the mRNA chain could open another hairpin in order to carry out next cycle of amplification.Finally,electrochemical luminescence detection was carried out by adding DNA2 labeled TGA-CdTe quantum dots.The amplification of the target mRNA by the addition of polymerase and the signal combined with the quantum dot mark improved the sensitivity of the sensor greatly.The result showed that the logarithm of target mRNA concentration had a good linear relationship with the corresponding ECL signal in the range of 1 × 10-15-1 × 10-11mol/L,with the detection limit of 3.4 × 10-16mol/L(S/N=3).Under the optimal conditions,the recoveries of mRNA spiked in human serum sample were 97.2% -102.3%.This sensor exhibited good selectivity,stability and reproducibility.

OBJECTIVETo study the frequency of certain specific genetic aberrations, including t (11; 18)/API2-MALT1, t (1; 14)/IgH-bcl-10 and t (14; 18)/IgH-MALT1, in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of different sites.

METHODSOne hundred and ninety-six cases of MALT lymphoma from Cancer Hospital of Fudan University were enrolled into the study. The samples consisted of MALT lymphomas from stomach (53 cases, including 44 cases of low-grade MALT lymphoma and 9 cases of MALT lymphoma with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma component), ocular adnexa (50 cases), salivary gland (20 cases), lung (20 cases), intestine (17 cases), skin (17 cases), liver (8 cases), thyroid (5 cases) and other sites (2 cases from tongue, 1 case from pancreas, 1 case from larynx, 1 case from vocal cords and 1 case from kidney). Fluorescence in-situ hybridization for API2-MALT1 fusion gene, bcl-10, MALT1 and IgH genes was performed on paraffin sections.

RESULTSAmong the 196 cases of MALT lymphoma, 25 cases (12.8%) possessed API2-MALT1 fusion gene. The positive rates in various sites were significantly different (P = 0.002), as follows: 45.0% (9/20) in lung, 22.7% (10/44) in stomach (without large cell component), 15.0% (3/20) in salivary gland, 2 of 17 cases in intestine and 2.0% (1/50) in ocular adnexa. The fusion gene was not detected in the 9 cases of gastric MALT lymphoma with large cell transformation. It was also negative in the MALT lymphomas from skin, thyroid and other sites. One of the pulmonary MALT lymphoma cases showed simultaneous aberrations of IgH and MALT1 genes, such as t (14; 18)/IgH-MALT1. Two of the gastric MALT lymphoma cases without large cell transformation and one of the pulmonary MALT lymphoma cases showed aberrations in both IgH and bcl-10 genes, such as t (1; 14)/IgH-bcl-10. Six cases of MALT lymphoma, including 2 cases from salivary gland, 2 cases from liver, 1 case from thyroid and 1 case from stomach (large cell transformation), showed trisomy 18. On the other hand, 3 cases, including 2 cases from stomach and 1 case from intestine, showed MALT1 gene amplification.

CONCLUSIONSIn general, specific genetic aberrations have a relatively low frequency of occurrence in MALT lymphomas. The positive rates however show a remarkable difference in tumors of different anatomic sites. This phenomenon may suggest that MALT lymphomas in different sites, though sharing similar morphologic features, may have a divergent tumorgenesis.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; genetics ; Animals ; B-Lymphocytes ; pathology ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18 ; Genes ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; methods ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; genetics ; Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone ; genetics ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; genetics ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Translocation, Genetic ; Trisomy

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the diagnostic role of nuclear expression of bcl-10 protein in extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) type.

METHODSOne hundred and forty cases of MALT lymphoma were collected from Cancer Hospital of Fudan University (including 38 cases from stomach, 35 cases from ocular adnexa, 16 cases from intestine, 15 cases from skin, 15 cases from salivary gland, 14 cases from lung, 3 cases from thyroid and 4 cases from other sites). Ten cases of reactive follicular hyperplasia of tonsil, 5 cases of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia of orbit and 143 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma other than MALT lymphoma (including 20 cases of NK/T cell lymphoma, 20 cases of follicular lymphomas, 20 cases of anaplastic large cell lymphomas, 20 cases of nodal diffuse large cell B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 10 cases of gastric diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, 13 cases of nodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma, 12 cases of mantle cell lymphoma, 11 cases of splenic marginal zone B-cell lymphoma, 6 cases of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, 6 cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified, 3 cases of small lymphocytic lymphoma, 1 case of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma and 1 case of plasmacytoma were used as controls. Immunohistochemical study for bcl-10, as well as dual staining with CD20, was performed by EnVision method in paraffin sections.

RESULTSIn reactive follicular hyperplasia of tonsil, bcl-10 was moderately or strongly expressed in the cytoplasm of germinal center B cells, while the mantle cells were negative and the marginal zone cells and paracortical T cells showed weak staining. In the 5 cases of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia of orbit, 2 were bcl-10-negative and the remaining 3 expressed bcl-10 in the cytoplasm of germinal center B cells. As for non-MALT lymphomas, 3 gastric DLBCL showed nuclear expression. The remaining cases showed variable cytoplasmic staining. In some cases of lymphoma, bcl-10 was expressed in tumor cells but not in reactive lymphoid cells. On the other hand, 92.1% (129/140) of MALT lymphoma were bcl-10 positive. Among those cases, 54.3% (76/140) showed cytoplasmic positivity and 37.9% (53/140) showed nuclear positivity. The nuclear positivity rate of bcl-10 in different anatomic sites was different. The staining was most intense in MALT lymphoma of ocular adnexa. Dual staining with CD20 showed that the bcl-10-positive cells were also CD20-positive, though the number of bcl-10-positive cells were less than that of CD20-positive cells.

CONCLUSIONSBcl-10 expression in lymphoid hyperplasia is a universal phenomenon. Cytoplasmic expression of bcl-10 is seen in many different kinds of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and reactive lymphoid conditions. In some cases of lymphoma, bcl-10 is expressed in tumor cells but not in reactive lymphoid cells, suggesting a possible role of abnormal bcl-10 expression in tumorgenesis. Nuclear expression of bcl-10 is seen mainly in MALT lymphoma, especially when occurring in ocular adnexa and lung. This is in contrast to loss of bcl-10 expression in residual germinal center cells.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; genetics ; Antigens, CD20 ; immunology ; B-Cell CLL-Lymphoma 10 Protein ; Cell Nucleus ; genetics ; Cytoplasm ; genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; pathology ; Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone ; genetics ; immunology ; pathology ; Palatine Tonsil ; pathology ; Pseudolymphoma ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of PDGF receptor-beta and its correlation with extracellular matrix in hepatic tissue during hepatic fibrosis.

METHODSThe model of hepatic fibrosis in rats was induced by carbon tetrachloride. PDGF receptor-beta subunit, collagen I, collagen III and a-SMA in hepatic tissues of these rats were examined using immunohistochemistry. The correlation between PDGF receptor-beta subunit and collagen I, III was analyzed using SAS software after the results of immunohistochemistry were semi-quantified.

RESULTSPDGF receptor-beta subunit and a-SMA were not detected in normal controls. Collagen I and III were distributed in the portal tracts and beneath the endothelia of the central veins and of the Disse spaces. Two weeks after CCl4 injection, the PDGF receptor-beta and a-SMA were detected, and the expression of collagen I and III increased. At the end of 4 and 6 weeks, the above four proteins were further increased. Two weeks after CCl4 injection, PDGF receptor-beta had no apparent correlation with collagen I and III. However, PDGF receptor-beta had a significant correlation with collagen I and III 2 weeks later, and the correlation coefficient was 0.74 and 0.60 respectively at 4 weeks, and 0.83 and 0.67 respectively at 6 weeks. PDGF receptor-beta had a significant correlation with a-SMA during the whole process of hepatic fibrosis and the correlation coefficient was 0.62, 0.69 and 0.81, respectively at the time of 2, 4 and 6 weeks after CCl4 injection.

CONCLUSIONThe PDGF receptor-beta was overexpressed during the process of hepatic fibrosis development, and it significantly correlated with collagen I and collagen III.

Animals ; Carbon Tetrachloride ; Carbon Tetrachloride Poisoning ; Collagen Type I ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Collagen Type III ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Extracellular Matrix ; metabolism ; Liver ; metabolism ; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptor, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor beta ; biosynthesis ; genetics