Objective:To produce rhBMP-4 with bioactivity in E.coli. Methods: The full-length human BMP-4 gene was mutated by PCR without changes in amino acid sequence, then the synthesized gene was cloned into plasmid pET-3c, transducted into BL21(DE)plysS, and induced by adding IPTG to a final concentration of 1.0 mmol/L. The protein product was purified using ion-exchange chromatography method and then renaturated, bioactivity was checked by C2C12 differentiation in vitro and mouse ectopic bone formation in vivo. Results: A 438 bp gene fragment encoding mature peptide of hBMP-4 was cloned , the protein product was mostly in the form of inclusion body, after renaturation, the engineering protein shows better bioactivity. Conclusion:The mutant strategy can enhance the expression of bioactive rhBMP-4 in E.coli expression system.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Brain ; blood supply ; diagnostic imaging ; Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ; diagnostic imaging ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

BACKGROUNDA bioactive compound from Paecilomyces tenuipes (BCPT) has an inhibitory effect on monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) and monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) in vitro and in vivo, which indicates BCPT may be a potential antidepressant. In this study we aimed to study the antidepressant effects of BCPT in the chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) model in rats and explore underlying mechanisms in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

METHODSThe antidepressant effects of BCPT were studied in the chronic unpredictable stress model in rats. Animals were housed isolated, except the control group. Rats were exposed daily to different random stressors from day 1 to 21. Awarding response was detected by calculating the 24-hour consumption of sucrose water. Cortisol (CORT) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ATCH) contents in serum and arginine vasopressin (AVP) contents in the pituitary body were detected by radio immunoassays. Total RNA of hippocampus or hypothalamus was extracted and subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the measurement of corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) mRNA or mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) mRNA and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) mRNA levels. Statistical analyses were performed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Student-Newman-Keuls (SNK) test.

RESULTSChronic unpredictable stress resulted in reduction of sensitivity to reward and abnormality in the HPA axis in the animal model. BCPT improved the reward reaction as measured by increasing sucrose consumption, remarkably reduced serum CORT and ACTH levels and the AVP content in the pituitary body in the CUS-treated rats, decreased the expression of CRH mRNA, enhanced the expression of hippocampus MR mRNA, GR mRNA and decreased the ratio of MR/GR.

CONCLUSIONSBCPT has potentially antidepressant-like activity and normalized the HPA axis hyperactivity in a CUS model of depression in rats. This may be an important mechanism of its antidepressant effect.

Animals ; Antidepressive Agents ; pharmacology ; Chronic Disease ; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone ; genetics ; Hydrocortisone ; blood ; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System ; drug effects ; physiology ; Male ; Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Paecilomyces ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Glucocorticoid ; genetics ; Receptors, Mineralocorticoid ; genetics ; Stress, Psychological ; physiopathology ; Sucrose ; administration & dosage

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease,with the characters of degradation of articular cartilage, the formation of the joint marginal osteophyte and synovium lesions. Previous studies have focused on the treatment of articular cartilage lesions. In recent years, new research in shows synovial inflammation plays an important role in OA. Synovium lesions and synovial inflammation-related factors induced the degradation and destruction of articular cartilage, and promoted the development of osteoarthritis. The role of synovial lesions in osteoarthritis is increasingly prominent, and the treatment for synovial lesions will become a new target. So this paper reviews the various manifestations of synovial in osteoarthritis.
Humans ; Osteoarthritis ; pathology ; Synovial Membrane ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo observe the change of cytokine interleukin IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) occurred in acute paraquat (PQ) poisoning rats and to investigate the mechanism of acute lung injury caused by paraquat (PQ) poisoning.

METHODSAll 72 healthy adult Wistar rats were random assigned into normal control groups, paraquat high dose group (120 mg/kg), paraquat middle dose (60 mg/kg) group, paraquat low dose group (30 mg/kg). Three observing periods of time included 8, 24, 72 h and the standards of TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-10 were determined.

RESULTSEvery index of the PQ group was significantly higher than that in the NS group at the same period of time (P<0.05 or P<0.01). In the 72 h group, the high dose group was significantly higher than the middle and low dose group (P<0.05), and there was no significantly difference between the middle and low dose group (P>0.05). For the comparison of index in the same dose group, the group of 72 h was much higher than 8 h group and 24 h group (P<0.05), and there was no difference between the 8h group and 24 h group (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe cytokine may play an important role in paraquat-induced acute lung tissue injury.

Acute Disease ; Animals ; Cytokines ; blood ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Interleukin-10 ; blood ; Interleukin-1beta ; blood ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Male ; Paraquat ; poisoning ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

Objective To compare the efficacy of surgical treatment(ST) and mechanical ventilation treatment(MVT) for flail chest.Methods From March 2013 to May 2017,81 patients with flail chest who underwent ST(28 cases) and MVT(53 cases) were enrolled in ICU.The relevant indicators of efficacy were compared including mechanical ventilation (MV) time,bed rest time,oxygen administration time,catheterization time,antibiotic use time,drug analgesia,drug analgesia patients,proportion of stop/postoperative sputum alone,ICU treatment time,hospital stay,mortality,readmission within two months and long-term pulmonary function after discharge.Results The MV time,bed time,oxygen time,antibiotic use time,ICU treatment time and hospitalization time of MVT were longer than those of ST group,the differences were significant(P ＜ 0.05).MVT had more analgesic times,more analgesic cases,smaller proportion of offline/postoperative sputum along and less hospitalization fees compared with ST group,the differences were significant(P ＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the main indexes of pulmonary function between two groups in 3 months after discharge.Conclusion ST and MVT respectively has advantages and disadvantages for flail chest.There is no significant difference in long-term pulmonary function of ST and MVT.While MVT has less trauma and lower cost.The appropriate treatment could be selected according to the clinical situation.

FGF21 (fibroblast growth factor 21) is a recently described member of the FGF family. It has been previously demonstrated that FGF21 is a potent regulator of glucose homeostasis. To improve stability of FGF21 for better efficacy, a new form of recombinant FGF21 was generated by fusion of a full length FGF21 gene and the Fc fragment of human IgG4 with flexible linker sequence. To examine the glucose regulation activity of FGF21-L-Fc, 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes were differentiated into adipocytes, and glucose uptake activity of FGF21-L-Fc was examined by glucose oxidase and peroxidase (GOD-POD) assay. The results showed that in comparison with wild type FGF21, FGF21-L-Fc was more potent in stimulation of glucose uptake by 3T3-L1. In vivo studies on the modified protein demonstrated that FGF-L-Fc had a better efficacy in lowering blood glucose of the STZ-induced diabetic animals and controlled glucose level for a longer time. The results provided a sound basis for further studies.
3T3-L1 Cells ; Adipocytes ; metabolism ; Animals ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Escherichia coli ; metabolism ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Immunoglobulin G ; genetics ; pharmacology ; Male ; Mice ; Recombinant Proteins ; genetics ; pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo characterize the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) -specific T lymphocyte responses and identify the immunodominant regions in Chinese HIV-1 recombinant subtype B/C chronic infectors at complete genome level.

METHODSTwenty-five HIV-1B/C recombinant chronic infectors were screened for their specific T lymphocyte responses to a panel of peptides corresponding to the complete HIV-1 subtype B genome by gamma interferon ELISPOT assay. Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric analysis of variance was used to test significant differences across gene regions, and Tukey pairwise analysis was used to identify differences between gene regions. Spearman rank correlation was used to assess the relation between responses. Results The order of recognized frequencies of specific T lymphocyte responses to HIV proteins was Nef>Vpr>Gag>Pol>Vpu>Env>Rev>Vif>Tat. When adjusted for protein length, Nef, Vpr, Gag, and Pol were the most intensely targeted proteins and the central region of Nef, Gag p24, Pol RT, and Vpr was most frequently recognized. No significant correlation was observed between the magnitude of IFN-gamma production of HIV-l-specific T lymphocyte responses and plasma viremia, breadth of response and CD4 counts. Conclusion The central region of Nef, Gag p24, Pol RT, and Vpr is most frequently targeted in HIV-1 B/C recombinants chronic infectors. HIV-l-specific T lymphocyte responses and plasma viremia or CD4 counts play no protective role at complete genome level in these infectors.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; HIV Infections ; immunology ; HIV-1 ; immunology ; Human Immunodeficiency Virus Proteins ; Humans ; Male ; T-Lymphocytes ; physiology ; Viral Load ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics and the serum types of enterovirus of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in children.

METHODSThe RT-nPCR method was established with universal primers within 5' untranslated region of enterovirus and VP1 region of Coxsackievirus A16 (CAV16) and enterovirus 71 (EV 71). Enteroviruses were detected with RT-nPCR in 237 children with HFMD. Clinical and epidemiologic characteristics and serum types of enterovirus of the patients with HFMD were studied.

RESULTSThe patients'age ranged from 7 months to 11 years (mean 4.2 +/- 0.5 years). The majority (94.5%) were less than 6 years old. HFMD was mostly seen in spring and winter (67.9%). Oral mucosal pox or ulcer as well as hand and foot rashes were observed in all 237 patients. Fever occurred in 141 patients (59.5%). Of the 237 patients, 133 (56.1%) were RT-nPCR positive. Of the 133 cases, 38 were positive for EV71, 64 were positive for CAV16, and 31 were negative for both EV71 and CAV16. The patients infected by different types of enteroviruses had similar clinical characteristics. Gene colon and sequence analysis for 12 strains of enteroviruses PCR positive products presented as EV71 (n=5), CAV16 (n=5), ECHO13 (n=1), and CAV5 (n=1).

CONCLUSIONSHFMD tends to occur in younger children less than 6 years old. The majority are affected in spring and winter. EV71 and CAV16 are common pathogens of HFMD. There is no relationship between clinical characteristics and serum types of enteroviruses in HFMD patients.

Child ; Child, Preschool ; Enterovirus ; classification ; Female ; Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease ; virology ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Seasons ; Serotyping

This study aimed to examine the number of circulating Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) + CD14+ monocytes in patients with different stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD), their responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and to explore the potential association of the number of TLR4+CD14+ monocytes with clinical laboratory measures. The numbers of TLR4+CD14+, LPS-stimulated TNF-α+CD14+ and interleukin (IL)-6+CD14+ monocytes were determined by flow cytometry in 9 patients with stage 3 CKD, 11 with stage 4 CKD, 16 with stage 5 CKD, and 19 healthy controls (HCs). Their laboratory tests were performed by routine methods and the potential association among these measures was analyzed by Pearson's correlation analysis. The numbers of CD14+, CD14+TLR4+, LPSstimulated TNF-α+CD14+ and IL-6+CD14+ monocytes in patients with CKD were significantly less than those of HCs (all P<0.05), and were negatively associated with patient disease severity. The number of CD14+TLR4+ monocytes was positively correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, P<0.001) and the levels of hematocrit (P<0.01), but negatively correlated with the levels of blood urine nitrogen, serum creatinine, and C-reactive protein (P<0.001 for all), in the CKD patients. Our data indicate that significant reduction in the number of TLR4+ monocytes and their impaired responses to LPS may be associated with the progression of CKD in Chinese patients.
Cytokines ; metabolism ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; metabolism ; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors ; metabolism ; Lipopolysaccharides ; pharmacology ; Monocytes ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; metabolism