Objective: To investigate the developmental toxicity of 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene in zebrafish embryos. Methods: AB wild-type male and female zebrafish were selected to mate and spawn, then the eggs were cultured with Holt buffer solution. Six dose groups ( 0.4, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.6, 2.0 μg/mL ), a solvent control group and a cosolvent control group, were set up with 20 embryos each. Malformations and death of embryos were observed at 48, 72 and 96 hpf ( hours post fertilization ), the mortality and 50% lethal concentration ( LC50 ) were also calculated. Results: At 48, 72 and 96 hpf, the LC50 of 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene on zebrafish embryos were 1.668, 1.043 and 0.895 μg/mL, respectively, with a downward trend. After 72 hpf, when the concentration reached 2.0 μg/mL, all the zebrafish died. In the range of 0.4-2.0 μg/mL, the mortality of zebrafish at 48, 72 and 96 hpf increased with the increase of 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene concentration ( all P<0.05 ); the malformation rate of zebrafish embryos at 48 hpf increased with the increase of 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene concentration ( P<0.05 ). Zebrafish embryos exposed to 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene led to yolk sac edema, pericardial edema and spinal curvature. Conclusion 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene can affect the development of zebrafish embryos, which will lead to lethal and teratogenic effects.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the feasibility and safety of autologous peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-PBHSCT) and its therapeutic effect on refractory rheumatism among preschool children.

METHODSThree boys with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) and juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) respectively, 3 to 6 years old with the mean age of 5 years with 3.5 to 22 months course of disease with 14 months on average, received auto-PBHSCT. Their conditions were so severe that conventional therapy failed to control the diseases. The changes of both clinical manifestations and immunologic indexes were observed before and after transplantation with long term following up at specialty clinic of rheumatism.

RESULTThe time when neutrophil count >or= 0.5 x 10(9)/L in the 3 children was days +9, +13 and +11 respectively, that of platelet count >or= 20 x 10(9)/L was days +14, +18 and +13 respectively. The cellular immune function remained abnormal with CD4 cells at a low level and CD4/CD8 being inverted. As to the JDM child, the skin rash had disappeared and his muscle tone was improved to grade 5 within one month after the transplantation. The EMG and serum creatase level returned to normal and muscle MRI findings were improved greatly within 2 months after the transplantation. As to the JSLE child, skin rash and proteinuria had disappeared, MRI of brain showed that the pathological changes had been absorbed and EEG returned to normal 3 months after the transplantation, all the autoantibodies turned to negative within 8 months after transplantation. As to the JRA child, the arthritis had been improved remarkably within 3 weeks after auto-PBHSCT. There was no swelling of joints nor movement limitation 3 months post transplantation. The steroids and immunosuppressive drugs were discontinued post transplantation. Cushing syndrome disappeared. Their body heights increased by 10 to 15 cm in the past 18 months, and they all returned to school. There was no relapse during follow-up periods of 25 - 27 months.

CONCLUSIONThe therapy with auto-PBHSCT for refractory rheumatism among preschool children was remarkably effective in a short-term, yet the safety and long-term effect still need to be further studied.

Child ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Male ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Rheumatic Diseases ; therapy ; Transplantation, Autologous ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo detect the serum specific proteins in tumor-like polypoid lesions of the gallbladder patients and establish diagnostic model.

METHODSSurface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) technique and WCX Magnetic Beads were used to detect the serum proteomic patterns of 23 patients with tumor-like PLG, 21 patients with non tumor-like PLG and 26 normal persons. Biomarker Wizard and Biomarker Patterns Software were used in combination to analyze the data.

RESULTSPreliminary screening out 22 representative specific proteins for the diagnosis of the tumor-like PLG. Analysis system under the conditions set selected 3 specific proteins to establish diagnostic model for the tumor-like PLG. The sensitivity and specificity of the model for the diagnosis of the tumor-like PLG were 100% and 89.4%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSELDI-TOF-MS technique can select specific protein of the tumor-like PLG, and establish diagnostic model of the tumor-like PLG.

Adult ; Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Blood Proteins ; analysis ; Female ; Gallbladder Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polyps ; diagnosis ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

OBJECTIVETo study the possible mechanism of aqueous extract of detoxified cottonseeds (CTN-W).

METHOD AND RESULTCTN-W 0.01, 0.03, 0.10, 0.30 mg.mL-1 was incubated directly with the synaptic membrane extracted from the cerebral cortex in rats, and adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity was detected by using radio-immunoassay.

RESULTShowed that CTN-W could activate AC in a dose-dependend manner. After incubation with PC12 cells in the presence of corticosterone 2 x 10(-4)mol.L-1 for 48 h, CTN-W 0.08, 0.4, 2 mg.mL-1 protected PC12 cells from the lesion induced by corticosterone.

CONCLUSIONAntidepressant and anxiolytic effects of CTN-W are related with the activation of AC-cAMP pathway in signal transduction system, thus protecting neurons from the lesion. These two aspects maybe partly form the mechanism of CTN-W's action.

Adenylyl Cyclases ; metabolism ; Animals ; Anti-Anxiety Agents ; pharmacology ; Antidepressive Agents ; pharmacology ; Corticosterone ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Gossypium ; chemistry ; Neuroprotective Agents ; pharmacology ; PC12 Cells ; drug effects ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Seeds ; chemistry ; Synaptic Membranes ; enzymology

BACKGROUNDBipolar electro-coagulation has a reported efficacy in treating epilepsy involving functional cortex by pure electro-coagulation or combination with resection. However, the mechanisms of bipolar electro-coagulation are not completely known. We studied the acute cortical blood flow and histological changes after bipolar electro-coagulation in 24 patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy.

METHODSTwenty-four patients were consecutively enrolled, and divided into three groups according to the date of admission. The regional cortical blood flow (rCBF), electrocorticography, the depth of cortex damage, and acute histological changes (H and E staining, neuronal staining and neurofilament (NF) staining) were analyzed before and after the operation. The t-test analysis was used to compare the rCBF before and after the operation.

RESULTSThe rCBF after coagulation was significantly reduced (P < 0.05). The spikes were significantly reduced after electro-coagulation. For the temporal cortex, the depth of cortical damage with output power of 2-9 W after electro-coagulation was 0.34 ± 0.03, 0.48 ± 0.06, 0.69 ± 0.06, 0.84 ± 0.09, 0.98 ± 0.08, 1.10 ± 0.11, 1.11 ± 0.09, and 1.22 ± 0.11 mm, respectively. Coagulation with output power of 4-5 W completely damaged the neurons and NF protein in the molecular layer, external granular layer, and external pyramidal layer.

CONCLUSIONSThe electro-coagulation not only destroyed the neurons and NF protein, but also reduced the rCBF. We concluded that the injuries caused by electro-coagulation would prevent horizontal synchronization and spread of epileptic discharges, and partially destroy the epileptic focus.

Adult ; Electrocoagulation ; methods ; Epilepsy ; surgery ; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Temporal Lobe ; surgery ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo detect the serum specific proteins in pancreatic cancer patients and establish diagnostic model by surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) technique.

METHODSTwenty-nine serum samples from patients of pancreatic cancer were collected before surgery and an additional 57 serum samples from age and sex matched individuals without cancer were used as controls, SELDI-TOF-MS technique and WCX magnetic beads were used to detect the protein fingerprint expression of all the serum samples and the resulting profiles between pancreatic cancer patients and controls were analyzed with biomarker wizard system, established the model using biomarker patterns system software. A double-blind test was used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the classification model.

RESULTSA panel of four biomarkers (relative molecular weight are 5705, 4935, 5318 and 3243 Da) were selected to set up a decision trees as the classification model for screening pancreatic cancer effectively. The result yielded a sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 97.4%. The double-blind test challenged the model with a sensitivity of 88.9% and a specificity of 89.5%.

CONCLUSIONSSELDI-TOF-MS offers a unique platform for the proteomic detection of serum in pancreatic cancer patients. It also offers a noninvasive method to further study the proteomic changes in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer.

Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Blood Proteins ; analysis ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; Proteomics ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

The epileptic eye and head movements during epileptic seizures may be much more complicated thanpeople originally understood, which can be ipsilateral or contralateral to the electroencephalographyfocus. Here, we describe a male patient with drug resistant focal seizures associated with a directionalseparation between head and eye movement before evolving into generalized tonic-clonic seizure.His contralateral head leading turning showed forced, sustained, and unnatural features companiedby ipsilateral eye staring. Stereoeletroencephalography monitoring was performed, and 4 habitualseizures were recorded over 5 days. Three seizures showed left head leading turning and generalizedtonic-clonic seizure, and only one showed dizziness and ringing in the ears. All the seizures showedthat the ictal onset contacts were located in the posterior inferior temporal sulcus which borders onthe anterolateral part of medial superior temporal area. The patient underwent a resection includingtemporooccipital region, and the histopathology showed focal cortical dysplasia type Ic. He has beenseizure free for two years after operation. The scores of the intelligence and memory quotient improvedhalf year after operation.

Objective Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors involving urinary system , yet its pathogene-sis has not been fully and thoroughly studied .The study aimed to de-tect the expression of LASS 2 in bladder cancer model of nude mice and investigate the relationship of LASS 2 with tumor proliferation and apoptosis as well as its possible molecular mechanism . Methods Tumor development in nude mice was observed through the establish-ment of orthotopic bladder cancer model by transplantation , bladder cancer metastasis model by subcutaneous injection and blank con-trol group.LASS2 expression and changes in proliferation and apoptosis were detected in tumor tissues of different parts . Results Bladder cancer cell injected subcutaneously metastasis model tumor formation rate of 100%.The two models were not found transfer phenomenon in vivo.Compared with blank control group (81.0%), LASS2 expression (60.0%, 14.0%) was significantly decreased in the inoculated group and subcutaneous implantation group ( P<0.05) .Compared with the blank control group ( 16.0%) , the expression of Ki67 in the inoculated group and subcutaneous implantation group increased (50.0%and 78.0%) (P<0.05).Compared with the in situ perfusion group, the expression of LASS2 (14.0%) was significantly decreased (P<0.05) and the expression of Ki67 (78.0%) was increased (P<0.05).Compared with the blank control group , the expression of Bcl-2 in subcutaneous implantation group and in si-tu perfusion group was significantly increased ( P<0.05) .Compared with the subcutaneous implantation group , the expression of Bcl-2 was increased in the in situ perfusion group ( P<0.05) , while the expression of Bcl-x1 in the in situ implanted tumor was higher than that in the other two groups (P<0.05).The expression level of Bax and caspase3 in each group was not statistically significant (P>0.05) .Compared with the blank control group , the expression of Bim was significantly decreased in the subcutaneous implantation group (P<0.05). Conclusion The expression of LASS2 may be related to the tumorigenicity , proliferation and apoptosis in EJ blad-der cancer cells .

High mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1), which is a nuclear protein, participates in chromatin architecture and transcriptional regulation. When released from cells, HMGB1 also plays a well-established role as a pro-inflammatory mediator during innate immune responses to injury. In the initial stage of injury, there is a release of large quantities of early pro-inflammatory mediators to initiate or perpetuate immune responses against pathogens, but this pro-inflammatory period is transient, and it is followed by a prolonged period of immune suppression. At present, several lines of evidences have suggested that HMGB1 is a late cytokine provoking delayed endotoxin morbidity, which may enhance the production of early proinflammatory mediators, and it can contribute potently to the activation of different immune cells and play a role in the development of host cell-mediated immunity. The biology of HMGB1 has been extensively studied as a pro-inflammatory cytokine of systemic inflammation, however, this review will attempt to provide a summary of the effects of HMGB1 on different immune cells and its regulatory mechanism in acute insults.
Cytokines ; immunology ; HMGB1 Protein ; immunology ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Inflammation ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo study the influence of the depth of jaundice, the duration of jaundice and preoperative biliary drainage (PBD) on postoperative complications and mortality after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD).

METHODSA retrospective review was performed of the medical records of 1025 patients who underwent PD between June 1986 and December 2010. The patients comprised 659 men and 366 women, ranging from 4 to 81 years old with a mean age of (54 ± 12) years. The indications for PD were malignant disease in 869 patients (84.78%) and benign or borderline tumors in 156 patients (15.22%). The operative procedures performed were pylorus-preserving modification in 279 patients and conventional PD, i.e. Whipple's operation in 746 patients. Complications after PD were compared among the different groups which was classified according to the depth of obstructive jaundice, the duration of obstructive jaundice and whether undergoing preoperative biliary drain or not, and the analysis was made by variance analysis and χ(2) test respectively.

RESULTSThe depth of jaundice did not significantly affect the incidence of complications after PD except for the hemorrhage complication (χ(2) = 11.06, P = 0.03). The duration of jaundice had no much influence on the postoperative complications and mortality. PBD could not reduce the postoperative complications and mortality, however, it would increase the incidence of postoperative incision infection (χ(2) = 9.84, P = 0.01). No significant relationship was observed between the duration of PBD and the postoperative complications and mortality.

CONCLUSIONSEither the depth or duration of obstructive jaundice has no relationship with the postoperative complications and mortality after PD but the postoperative hemorrhage. Patients undergoing PD can not be benefited from PBD. Consequently, PBD should not be performed routinely, but it can be used in some serious patients with severe depth of jaundice who can not received surgery at once.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Drainage ; Female ; Humans ; Jaundice, Obstructive ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreaticoduodenectomy ; adverse effects ; mortality ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult