Objective To determine the genes in which exist overlapping ORF in Merlin strains of human cytomegalovirus, and to reveal their structure and functional characteristics. Methods We search for overlapping genes of ORF in HCMV Merlin strains' whole genome by Bioinformatics methods, analyzing coding sequence CDS and starting and ending sites of ORF, calculating the length of CDS and ORF, analyzing the molecular weight of encoding protein, overlapping length and coding direction of protein, identifying overlapping sequences and overlapping types, analyzing the expression phase of overlapping genes and the function of proteins. Results There were 39 overlapping ORF genes in HCMV Merlin strains, accounting for 23% of total genes. Among these 39 genes, there are 13 IE genes, 9 E genes and 17 L genes, which can be divided into 16 contigs. There are 11 contigs when two genes overlap, with 3 contigs in three genes overlapping, and 2 contigs in four genes overlapping. The functions of overlapping genes are widely. Conclusion We found that there are a lot of complex overlapping genes in HCMV Merlin strains, which are basis for further study of the transcription and translation mechanism of overlapping genes.

This study analyzed the clinical features of 5 children with hereditary spherocytosis (HS) and the characteristics of ANK1 and SPTB gene mutations. All 5 children were confirmed with HS by peripheral blood genetic detection. Anemia, jaundice and splenomegaly were observed in all 5 children. Three children had an increase in erythrocyte osmotic fragility. All 5 children had negative results of the Coombs test, glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase test, sucrose hemolysis test, acidified-serum hemolysis test and thalassemia gene test. Peripheral blood smear showed an increase in spherocyte count in one child. High-throughput sequencing revealed ANK1 gene mutations in patients 1 to 3, namely c.3398(exon29)delA, c.4306C>T and c.957(exon9)_c.961(exon9)delAATCT, among which c.3398(exon29)delA had not been reported before. Patient 4 had c.318delGExon3 mutation in the SPTB gene. Patient 5 had mutations in the SPTB and SLC4A1 genes, among which c.3484delC in the SPTB gene was a spontaneous mutation; the mutation site of the SLCA4A1 gene was inherited from the father and was a non-pathogenic gene. This study suggests that anemia, jaundice and splenomegaly are major clinical manifestations of HS children. Most children with HS do not have the typical spherocytic changes. Genetic detection may help with the accurate diagnosis of HS.
Ankyrins ; genetics ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Humans ; Mutation ; Spectrin ; genetics ; Spherocytosis, Hereditary ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo study the difference in expression of TOPK/PBK in lymph nodes between children with malignant lymphoma and those with reactive lymphoid hyperplasia.

METHODSEighty children with malignant lymphoma and twenty children with reactive lymphoid hyperplasia were enrolled as subjects. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine the expression of TOPK/PBK in all the subjects. The expression of TOPK/PBK was compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThe TOPK/PBK-positivity rate was significantly higher in children with malignant lymphoma than in those with reactive lymphoid hyperplasia (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the TOPK/PBK-positivity rate between the children with Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). There were significant differences in the TOPK/PBK-positivity rate among children with different pathological types of NHL (P<0.05): the children with lymphoblastic lymphoma showed the highest TOPK/PBK-positivity rate and those with mature B-cell lymphoma and mature T/NK-cell lymphoma had a similar TOPK/PBK-positivity rate.

CONCLUSIONSThe expression of TOPK/PBK is up-regulated in the lymph nodes of children with malignant lymphoma. The expression level of TOPK/PBK may be related to the pathological type of NHL.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Lymph Nodes ; enzymology ; Lymphoma ; enzymology ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases ; analysis ; Pseudolymphoma ; enzymology

Adult ; Aged ; Animals ; Anthrax ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; veterinary ; Cattle ; Disease Outbreaks ; prevention & control ; Disinfection ; Dogs ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence

Cardiac fibrosis occurs after pathological stimuli to the cardiovascular system. One of the most important factors that contribute to cardiac fibrosis is angiotensin II (Ang II). Accumulating studies have suggested that reactive oxygen species (ROS) plays an important role in cardiac fibrosis and sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS) possesses antioxidant action. We therefore examined whether STS depresses Ang II-induced collagen type I expression in cardiac fibroblasts. In this study, Ang II significantly enhanced collagen type I expression and collagen synthesis. Meanwhile, Ang II depressed matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) expression and activity. These responses were attenuated by STS. Furthermore, STS depressed the intracellular generation of ROS, NADPH oxidase activity and subunit p47(phox) expression. In addition, N-acetylcysteine the ROS scavenger, depressed effects of Ang II in a manner similar to STS. In conclusion, the current studies demonstrate that anti-fibrotic effects of STS are mediated by interfering with the modulation of ROS.
Acetylcysteine/pharmacology ; Angiotensin II/*antagonists & inhibitors/pharmacology ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cells, Cultured ; Collagen Type I/*metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/*pharmacology ; Fibroblasts/*drug effects/metabolism ; Free Radical Scavengers/pharmacology ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 1/metabolism ; Myocardium/*cytology ; NADPH Oxidase/metabolism ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects ; Phenanthrenes/*pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical response, pathological complete response (pCR), tumor resection rate and safety of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with docetaxel and epirubicin (ET) for locally advanced breast cancer (LABC).

METHODSFrom March to December 2001, 40 women with LABC, aged from 28-67 (medium 48) years were alloted. Twenty patients had clinical stage IIIa disease, 15 had stage IIIb disease and 5 stage IV patients who had ipsilateral sura-clavicular metastasis. The dose was: epirubicin (E) 60 mg/m2, docetaxel (T) 75 mg/m2 every 3 weeks, with G-CSF given preventively. After 2 cycles of ET, a pilot clinical response evaluation was performed by investigators for each patient to decide if she should receive another 1-2 cycles of ET before surgery or radiation therapy.

RESULTSThirty-eight patients received 2-3 cycles of ET regimen. The pCR, clinical complete response (cCR) and clinical partial response (cPR) rates were 15.0%, 20.0% and 52.5%, respectively. Tumor resection rate in this group was 92.5%. Incidence of III/IV Grade neutropenia was 8.4%/14.0% of cycles, and 3 patients suffered from neutropenia with fever. Non-hematological adverse events were alopecia, nausea, vomiting, fluid retention, myalgia, arthralgia and nail disorders, which were mild to moderate.

CONCLUSIONNeo-adjuvant chemotherapy with a combination of docetaxel and epirubicin is effective and well tolerated by women with locally advanced breast cancer.

Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Epirubicin ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neutropenia ; chemically induced ; Paclitaxel ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Remission Induction

OBJECTIVETo observe Notch1 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and investigate its relation with microvascular angiogenesis in the tumor.

METHODSTissue slices of 40 cases ESCC (cancer group) and 8 cases normal esophagus tissues (normal group) were obtained to analyze the expression of Notch1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) using immunohistochemistry and estimate the microvessel density (MVD) in the tumor.

RESULTSNotch1 expression was significantly lower in the cancer group than in the normal group (P<0.05). In the cancer group, Notch1 expression was higher in highly differentiated than in poorly differentiated tumors (P<0.05) regardless of tumor infiltration or lymph nodes metastasis (P>0.05). VEGF expression and MVD were significantly higher in cancer group than in normal group, and showed significant differences between tumors with different differentiation degrees, infiltration and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Correlation analysis showed that Notch1 expression was inversely correlated to VEGF expression.

CONCLUSIONNotch1 may be an anti-oncogene in ESCC and affects cell differentiation in early stage of the malignancy. Abnormally low expression of Notch1 in ESCC may be one of the upstream factors to induce high expression of VEGF and increased MVD. The Notch1 pathway might play a key role in microvascular angiogenesis in ESCC.

Adult ; Aged ; Angiogenesis Inducing Agents ; metabolism ; Capillaries ; growth & development ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; blood supply ; metabolism ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; blood supply ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; Receptor, Notch1 ; metabolism ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of K2O addition on the crystallization property of dental glass-ceramics in the Li2O-SiO2-Al2O3-P2O5-ZnO system.

METHODSDifferent content of K2O was added into Li2O-SiO2-Al2O3-P2O5-ZnO glass system. The heat-treated system of the glass-ceramics was determined by differential thermal analyses (DTA), then the crystallization components and the microstmcture of the glass-ceramics with different content of K2O were investigated from X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

RESULTSAddition of K2O helped to reduce the viscosity of the glass system and improved crystallization. More lithium disilicate crystals appeared after heated-treatment of the glass system which contained 5.3 wt% addition of K2O, and the homogeneously lath-shaped crystals were 4 gm in length.

CONCLUSIONCertain content of K2O can improve the crystallization property of dental glass-ceramics in the Li2O-SiO2-Al2O3-P2O5-ZnO system.

Ceramics ; Crystallization ; Dental Porcelain ; Glass ; Hot Temperature ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Silicon Dioxide ; X-Ray Diffraction

OBJECTIVETo analyze human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphism and search for new alleles in Chinese Han population bone marrow registry donors.

METHODSDNA-based HLA genotyping methods were used including PCR-SSP, BST and molecular cloning.

RESULTSA total of 6965 unrelated donors, 4707 from South China origin and 2258 from north, were typed for HLA-A, B, and DRB1 loci. Seventy-two specificities of HLA alleles were identified. The HLA-A25, A34, A74, B41, B42, B53, B73 and B81 that were rarely reported in previously Chinese population studies were identified in this study. Estimation of gene frequency indicated that the blank gene frequency was less than 0.2% for HLA-A, 0.25% for HLA-B and 0.70% for HLA-DRB1 loci. Three novel alleles were identified and officially assigned by the World Health Organization (WHO) Nomenclature Committee as A*0253N, A*1114 and B*5610.

CONCLUSIONLarge-scale DNA-based HLA genotyping used in bone marrow registry donors is highly accurate and reliable for estimating gene frequency and searching for new alleles. The discrepancy of HLA gene distribution between South and North China Han population showed the necessity of setting the more regions in South and North China to screen the bone marrow registry donors for bone marrow transplant.

Bone Marrow Transplantation ; statistics & numerical data ; China ; ethnology ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; HLA-A Antigens ; genetics ; HLA-B Antigens ; genetics ; HLA-DR Antigens ; genetics ; HLA-DRB1 Chains ; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I ; genetics ; Histocompatibility Antigens Class II ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Registries ; Tissue Donors