Chronic alcohol consumption is a leading cause of chronic liver diseases worldwide, resulting in cirrhosis and hepa-tocellular carcinoma. Almost all heavy drinkers develop fatty liv-er, but only 20% ~40% of them develop more severe forms of alcoholic liver diseases such as alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic fibrosis, and the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the disease progression remain largely unknown. The animal models which can mimic human alcoholic liver diseases are very neces-sary tools for better understanding and exploring the therapy strat-egy of the disease. Currently, the most widely used models for alcoholic liver injury are Lieber-DeCarli model, Tsukamoto-French model, Gao-binge model and others. Here we summarize the recent advances in animal models recapitulating different fea-tures and etiologies of human alcoholic liver diseases. These ani-mal models will be very useful for the mechanism study of alco-holic liver diseases and further new therapeutic drug screening.

Objective To observe the changes of extracellular matrix(ECM) production and hypertrophy of glomerular mesangial cells(GMCs) induced by high glucose(HG),and the inhibitory role of myriocin(ISP-1).Methods GMC cultured with normal glucose(5.6 mmol/L D-Glucose,NG),HG(25.2 mmol/L D-Glucose) and HG plus ISP-1(100 mg/L) for different durations(0,24,48,(72 h)).The sizes of GMC were indicated by forward scatter intensity,measured by flow cytometery,and the levels of fibronection(FN),collagen Ⅳ(Col Ⅳ),laminin(LN),precollagen Ⅲ(Pcol Ⅲ) and hyaluronic acid(HA) in the supernatant of cultured GMC were detec-(ted) by ELISA.Results Compared with NG,HG could induce GMC hypertrophy(P

Objective To explore quality of life and coping style of autistic children' s parents, and correlation between them. Methods 68 parents of children with autism and 64 healthy children' s parents were tested with comprehensive assessment questionnaire of the quality of life and coping style questionnaire. Data were analyzed by t -test and multivariate regression analysis. Results The scores of material life and mental health dimensions in study group(48.18 ± 12.80,60.63 ± 10.18 ) were lower than that in control group(52.71±9.84,65.79±8.64) and the difference was significant( t= -2.04, P＜0.05; t= -3.09, P＜0.01 ). The scores of "problem solving" coping style in study group were slower than in control group; the scores of fantasy and wincing coping style in study group were higher than that in control group. By multivariate regression analysis showed that the scores of "problem solving" coping style were positively correlated with total score of life quality,physical health,mental health and social function dimensions; the scores of "fantasy" coping style had negative correlation with the total score of life quality; the scores of "wincing" coping style had negative correlation with mental health dimension. Conclusion Parents of autistic children were more susceptible to problems of physical life and mental health. Compared to parents of normal children they are more in "fantasy and wineing style and less in" problem solving style to cope with stress, so it would affect the quality of life and mental health badly and need early intervention.

Objective To investigate the effects of isoflurane and sevonumne on apoptosis and expression of CD44 and CD54 in human lung cancer cell line A549.Methods Human lung cancer A549 cells were obtained from Shanghai Cell Biology Medical Research Institute,Chinese Academy of Sciences,and inoculated in 24 well culture plate.After being cultured for 24 h the cells were randomly divided into 3 groups:group Ⅰ control(group C);group Ⅱ isoflurane (group Iso) and group Ⅲ sevoflurane (group Sev).A 549 cells were exposed to 1.7% isoflurane and 2.5%sevoflurane for 4 h respectively in group Iso and Sev respectively,and were then cultured for another 24 h.Apoptosis and expression of CD44 and CD54 in A549 cells were detected with flow cytometer at 0 (T0),2 h(T1) and 4 h(T2) of and 24 h after(T3) exposure to isoflurane and sevoflurane.Results The percentage of apoptotic cells wag significantly higher at T2 and T3 in group Iso than in group C.The percentage of apoptotic cells was significantly higher at T1,T2 and T3 in group Sev than in group Iso and C.The expression of CD44 and CD54 at T1,T2 and T3 was significantly decreased as compared with the baseline at T0 in group Iso and Sev and was significantly lower in group Iso and Sev than in group C.Conclusion Isoflurane and sevoflurane can induce apoptesis of human lung cancer cell line A549, and sevoflurane is more effective. Isoflurane and sevoflurane can inhibit the expression of CD44 and CD54 of human lung cancer cell line A549.

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; genetics ; Exons ; genetics ; Genes, erbB-1 ; genetics ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology

OBJECTIVEMyriocin (ISP-1) is a new type of immune inhibitor extracted from cordyceps sinensis. This study was to observe the effects of ISP-1 on the expression of cell cycle regulatory protein D1 (cyclinD1) in high glucose-induced hypertrophy rat glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs).

METHODSRat GMCs were cultured in vitro and divided into three groups: high glucose (450 mg/dL D-glucose), normal glucose (100 mg/dL D-glucose, control) and ISP-1 (450 mg/dL D-glucose plus 100 μg/mL ISP-1). The protein expression of cyclinD1 was detected by flow cytometry.

RESULTSThe expression of cyclinD1 in GMCs in the high glucose group increased significantly in a time-dependent manner compared with that in the control group. ISP-1 treatment significantly inhibited the up-regulated expression of cyclinD1 induced by high concentration glucose, and the expression of cyclinD1 was restored to the level of the control group 48 and 72 hrs after ISP-1 treatment.

CONCLUSIONSHigh concentration of glucose can up-regulate the expression of cyclinD1 in GMCs. ISP-1 may inhibit the up-regulated expression of cyclinD1, which might contribute to the protective effect of ISP-1 against GMC hypertrophy induced by high glucose.

Animals ; Cyclin D1 ; analysis ; Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated ; pharmacology ; G1 Phase ; Glucose ; toxicity ; Hypertrophy ; Mesangial Cells ; chemistry ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Adenocarcinoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; metabolism ; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Chromogranins ; metabolism ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Ki-67 Antigen ; metabolism ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Synapsins ; metabolism

Adenoma ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Adult ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 3 ; genetics ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 7 ; genetics ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Diploidy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kidney Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; S100 Proteins ; metabolism ; Vimentin ; metabolism ; WT1 Proteins ; metabolism ; Wilms Tumor ; metabolism ; pathology

Cryptosporidium andersoni ATP-binding cassette (CaABC) is an important membrane protein involved in substrate transport across the membrane. In this research, the nucleotide binding domain (NBD) of CaABC gene was amplified by PCR, and the eukaryotic expression vector of pEGFP-C1-CaNBD was reconstructed. Then, the recombinant plasmid of pEGFP-C1-CaNBD was transformed into the mouse intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) to study the iron transportation function of CaABC. The results indicated that NBD region of CaABC gene can significantly elevate the transport efficiency of Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, and HCO3 - in IECs (P<0.05). The significance of this study is to find the ATPase inhibitors for NBD region of CaABC gene and to inhibit ATP binding and nutrient transport of CaABC transporter. Thus, C. andersoni will be killed by inhibition of nutrient uptake. This will open up a new way for treatment of cryptosporidiosis.
ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters/*chemistry/*genetics/metabolism ; Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Calcium/metabolism ; *Cloning, Molecular ; Cryptosporidiosis/parasitology ; Cryptosporidium/chemistry/genetics/*metabolism ; Humans ; Iron/metabolism ; Mice ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Protozoan Proteins/*chemistry/*genetics/metabolism ; Sequence Alignment

OBJECTIVEMast cells and eosinophil have been found to play important roles not only in the development of anaphylactic inflammation but also in the chronic progression of organ reconstruction. But their role in the pathogenesis of Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis (HSPN) has not been fully understood. The present study was conducted to observe the serum levels of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and renal infiltration of mast cells in HSPN in order to elucidate their role in the development and progression of HSPN in children.

METHODSThe serum ECP levels were determined in 46 children with HSPN by fluoro-enzyme immunoassay (FEIA) using the Pharmacia CAP System. The distribution of mast cells infiltration was detected by immuno-enzyme-histological staining of tryptase (a marker for mast cell activation) and their relation with pathological changes was analyzed in 32 children with HSPN.

RESULTSThe serum ECP levels were 16.3 +/- 6.5 microg/L in the active stage of HSPN, significantly higher than that in remission stage (3.9 +/- 1.4 microg/L, P < 0.01) and that in control group (3.1 +/- 1.7 microg/L, P < 0.01). The number of mast cells in renal interstitium was 4.4 +/- 2.4 cells/mm2 in normal kidney, and significantly increased to 27.2 +/- 19.2 cells/mm2 in children with HSPN ISKDC grade II (P < 0.01) and 42.1 +/- 16.4 cells/mm2 in grade III (P < 0.05 when compared with grade II), 77.9 +/- 15.0 cells/mm2 in grade IV (P < 0.05 when compared with grade III).

CONCLUSIONThe serum ECP level could reflect disease activity of HSPN, and mast cell infiltration in kidney correlated significantly with renal histological severity in HSPN. Mast cells and eosinophil may play important roles in the development and progression of HSPN.

Biomarkers ; blood ; Child ; Disease Progression ; Eosinophil Cationic Protein ; blood ; Female ; Fluoroimmunoassay ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kidney ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mast Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; Nephritis ; blood ; metabolism ; pathology ; Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch ; blood ; metabolism ; pathology ; Severity of Illness Index ; Tryptases ; metabolism