AIM: To investigate the potential role of 14-3-3 tau in trophoblast cells on invasiveness. METHODS: 14-3-3 tau expression was detected in first-trimester villi, deciduas and human trophoblastic cell line (BeWo) by immunohistochemistry. Small interference RNA (siRNA) targeting 14-3-3 tau was transfected into BeWo cells. The effects of down-regulated 14-3-3 tau on invasion of human trophoblasts cell line BeWo were examined by matrigel invasion assay, and the transcription, translation of E-cadherin and snail were estimated by RT-PCR or Western blotting. U0126 was used to detect the extracellular-signal related kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) function on down-regulation of 14-3-3 tau induced cell invasion. RESULTS: 14-3-3 tau was detected in the invasive trophoblastic cells in the first trimester villi and that invaded to the deciduas. BeWo cells also expressed 14-3-3 tau. Down-regulation of 14-3-3 tau increased the invasive cell-number of BeWo, as well as the expression of snail, and inhibited E-cadherin. U0126 inhibited the enhanced invasiveness in these cells induced by the down-regulation of 14-3-3 tau. CONCLUSION: 14-3-3 tau may regulate the invasiveness of human trophoblastic cells through ERK1/2 signaling pathway.

Objective To explore the clinical and pathologic features of Langerhans cell histiocytosis(LCH).Method Thirty-eight cases of LCH from both in hospital and outpatient department in dermatology and pediatry department from Jan.1991 to Jun.2006 were analyzed about the features of clinic,pathology and immunohistochemistry.Results The mean age of onset was 2.18 years old.The male /female ratio was 1.71.Skin lesions occurred in 78.9% of the patients.Among them,68.5% were as the first manifestation.The eruptions mainly distributed on trunk,90% of them presented as hemorrhagic maculopapules,nevertheless,3.3% of the eruptions showed as crust with hilar depression,which was similar to pityriasis lichenoides etvarioliformis acuta.Fever,hepatomegalia and splenomegia occurred in patients at a rate of 60.5%,68.4%,55.3% respectively.Thirty-one point six percent of the patients had got lymphadenectasis,the neck and inguinal lymph nodes were the common site to be affected.Ossature involvement occurred in 31.6% of the patients,which 8.3% got multiple injuries,howe-ver,91.7% got a solitary bone involved.Skull was the main site to be injured,else were lumbar,humerus,hipbone,an so on.Respiratory tract,auditory canal,mucosa were also the sites involved in this disease,but the incidence rate was lower than 10%,respectively.The laboratory data showed that 81.3% of the patients were anaemia,60.7% with abnormal subgroup of T-cell,and 32.1% positive for EBV-IgG.The skin histopathology data of 26/30 cases revealed that lichenoid infiltrates of Langerhans cells confined to the upper dermis.Cytologic features were cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasms,and longitudinally grooved or reniform nuclei.Lymphocytes and a few eosinophils also could be seen.Four cases of thirty showed that the proliferative Langerhans cells were with pale cytoplasms,besides,there were numerous eosinophils,and sometimes a few multinucleate cells were scattered.The immunity test of 20 cases of thirty displayed that CD1a(+)S100(+)KP-1(-).Biopsy of lymphaden and tumor of the skull of the rest 8 patients were all diagnosed as eosinophilic granuloma through both hematoxylin and eosin-stained section and immune marks.Conclusions Multiple systems can be involved in LCH.Hemorrhagic maculopapules,fever and splenohepatomegalia are common presentations in this disease.The morphous of nucles of histiocytes is particular,and to diagnose definitely,both CD1a(+) and S-100(+) are needed.

Objective To investigate the role of acid and bile reflux in children with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and to evaluate the significance of detecting acid and bile reflux in diagnosing GERD in children.Methods Using ambulatory 24 h pH mo-(nitoring) and bilirubin monitoring technique, we simultaneously assessed the changes of intraesophageal pH and bile reflux in 23 subjects (including 11 healthy controls and 12 patients with GERD).Results The time of esophageal acid exposure (pH

For screening the potential drugs as anti-liver fibrosis candidates, we established a high- throughput drug screening cell model based on COL1A1 promoter. The activity of COL1A1 promoter and luciferase reporter gene can be elevated by TGF-β1, and inhibited by candidate drugs. We constructed a recombined plasmid with COL1A1 promoter and luciferase reporter gene pGL4.17, the activity of COL1A1 promoter was reflected by fluorescence intensity. COL1A1 promoter activity was detected by Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay System, it came that the relative luciferase activity of COL1A1 promoter was 15.98 times higher than that of control group induced by TGF-β1, showing the recombined plasmid could be used in cell model. The recombined plasmid was transfected into human hepatic stellate cells LX2, detected the effect of potential drugs, and obtained a stable expression system through stable transfection and monoclonal cell culture. A sample which could reduce COL1A1 promoter activity signally by our cell model, decreased collagen I mRNA and protein expression detected by real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting. It indicates this novel cell model can be used in high-throughput drug screening of potential anti-liver fibrosis drugs.
Collagen Type I ; genetics ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; methods ; Genes, Reporter ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; High-Throughput Screening Assays ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; drug therapy ; Luciferases ; Plasmids ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; RNA, Messenger ; Transfection ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; pharmacology

Calcinosis ; diagnostic imaging ; etiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Globus Pallidus ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Osteogenesis Imperfecta ; complications ; genetics ; Skull ; diagnostic imaging ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective To study the value of deferred stent implantation in patients with high thrombus burden of acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods Select 106 cases with a high thrombus burden within 12 hours of onset in patients with STEMI ,the infarct-related artery thrombus aspiration after antegrade flow of TIMI 2-3 and≤2 points of the thrombus aspiration(TS)patients were randomly divided into immediate stenting group(n = 43)and deferred stenting group(n = 40). Two groups of patients were compared with the myocardial blush grade(MBG),the incidence of slow-/no-reflow ,the incidence of compound endpoints in 6 months and the cardiac function after PCI for 6 months. Results After stenting,the MBG of deferred group was significantly higher than that of immediate group ,the incidence of slow-/no-reflow and the compound endpoints events within 6 months in deferred group was significantly lower than that in the immediate group. After PCI for 6 months,the improvement of LVEF in the deferred group was significantly higher than that in the immediate group, the left ventricular end diastolic dimension(LVEDD)in deferred group was significantly lower than that in immedi-ate group,and the differences were statistically significant(P < 0.05). Conclusions The high thrombus burden in patients with acute STEMI after thrombus aspiration ,deferred stent implantation can significantly reduce the rate of slow-/no-reflow ,improve myocardial perfusion ,reduce the incidence of compound endpoints events ,im-prove cardiac function in patients.

AIM: To investigate the characteristics and surgical management of retinal detachment (RD) after laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in myopia.METHODS: Documents of patients with RD observed in 18342 eyes (9 598 patients) who underwent LASIK were retrospectively reviewed. None of the patients had history of corneal or other diseases before LASIK and preoperative fundus examination was performed. Patients were followed for a mean of 20 months and the clinical features of the eyes which developed RD after LASIK were investigated.RESULTS: Six patients including 2 males and 4 females developed RD, and the incidence of RD after LASIK was 0.33‰. Mean pre-LASIK myopia in these 6 eyes was 9.33D.None of these eyes had prophylactic treatment history of any retinal lesions. Mean time interval between LASIK and RD development was 9.2 months. All RDs happened spontaneously and were managed with vitrectomy and other techniques.Retinal reattachment was achieved at the first retinal detachment surgery in all 6 eyes (100%) at mean follow-up of 9.3months.CONCLUSION: RD after LASIK is not common. The study suggests no cause-effect relationship between RD and LASIK procedure in myopic eyes. However, clinicians should still be aware of retinal pathology in patients undergoing LASIK.

AIM: To assess the efficacy and safety of prophylactic laser photocoagulation for retinal breaks before laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in myopic eyes.METHODS: From April 2000 to April 2004, totally 1 845 eyes ( 1 233 patients ) requesting LASIK had a fundus examination with indirect ophthalmoscopy before the surgery. They were divided into two groups according to the presence (Group 1) or absence of retinal breaks (Group 2). All patients with retinal breaks, though they were asymptomatic, underwent prophylactic laser photocoagulation to seal the breaks before LASIK.RESULTS: Patient age ranged from 18 to 43 ( 25.3±5.7) yaers old. Mean preoperative spherical equivalent refraction (PSER) was -7.44± 2.13 D (range, -1.50 to -14.50 D). Retinal breaks were identified and treated in 37eyes (2.05%) of 32 patients;1 808 eyes of 1 201 patients had no retinal breaks. No statistical difference was found in age ( P ＞0.05) or gender (P ＞0.05) between the two groups. Significant difference of PSER was noted between Group 1 (-9.41± 4.15D) and Group 2 (-7.52±3.71D) (P＜0.05). During a mean 14mo follow-up, none of the patients developed retinal detachment.CONCLUSION: The efficacy and safety of prophylactic laser photocoagulation for retinal breaks was confirmed.Retinal breaks should be identified and treated by photocoagulation in eyes before LASIK for myopia.

The contribution of particles to cardiovascular mortality and morbidity has been enlightened by epidemiologic and experimental studies. However, adverse biological effects of the particles with different sizes on cardiovascular cells have not been well recognized. In this study, sub-cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were exposed to increasing concentrations of pure quartz particles (DQ) of three sizes (DQPM1, <1 μm; DQPM3-5, 3-5 μm; DQPM5, 5 μm) and carbon black particles of two sizes (CB0.1, <0.1 μm; CB1, <1 μm) for 24 h. Cytotoxicity was estimated by measuring the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and cell viability. Nitric oxide (NO) generation and cytokines (TNF-α and IL-1β) releases were analyzed by using NO assay and enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. It was found that both particles induced adverse biological effects on HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. The size of particle directly influenced the biological activity. For quartz, the smaller particles induced stronger cytotoxicity and higher levels of cytokine responses than those particles of big size. For carbon black particles, CB0.1 was more capable of inducing adverse responses on HUVECs than CB1 only at lower particle concentrations, in contrast to those at higher concentrations. Meanwhile, our data also revealed that quartz particles performed stronger cell damage and produced higher levels of TNF-α than carbon black particles, even if particles size was similar. In conclusion, particle size as well as particle composition should be both considered in assessing vascular endothelial cells injury and inflammation responses induced by particles.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the imbalance of suppressors of cytokine signaling 1(SOCS1)/SOCS3 and abnormal activation of monocytes/ macrophages in children with acute-phase asthma, and explore the molecular mechanism of chronic inflammatory process on airway.Methods The present study enrolled 20 asthmatic children and 20 age-matched normal children. Dual-color flow cytometric analysis was performal to detect the percentage of CD_ 80 、CD_ 86 expressing on CD_ 14 ~+ cell. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and real-time PCR were used to analyze SOCS1,SOCS3 expression in monocytes/ macrophages.Results The proportions of CD_ 80 ,CD_ 86 expressed on CD_ 14 ~+ cell in children with asthma were significantly higher than those in control subjects(CD_ 80 :7.0% vs 1.70%),(CD_ 86 :11.37% vs 2.03%),all P