BACKGROUND: 5-azacytidine (5-Aza) has been frequently used to induce bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs)differentiation into cardiomyocyte.OBJECTIVE: To observe expression of cardiomyocyte-related receptors in cardiomyogenic differentiation of rat BMSCs.METHODS: BMSCs of passage three were assigned to four groups: group Ⅰ: L-DMEM solution alone was replaced; Ⅱ:L-DMEM solution was replaced after induction of 100 mg/L AST+5 μmol/L 5-Aza for 24 hours; group Ⅲ: L-DMEM solution wasreplaced after induction of 10 μmol/L 5-Aza for 24 hours; and group Ⅳ: L-DMEM solution was replaced after induction of 5 μmol/L5-Aza for 24 hours. Culture medium was replaced every 3 days in each group. Differentiated cells were identified after 30 days ofinduction.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Expression of cardiomyocyte specific proteins Nkx2.5, cTnT and Desmin was detected in groupsⅢ, Ⅳ and Ⅱ after induction compared with group Ⅰ , with significant differences (P < 0.01). The amount of cTnT and Desminexpression expression was significantly higher in groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ compared with group Ⅳ (P < 0.01). The level of Nkx2.5expression was significantly higher in groups Ⅱ (P < 0.01) and Ⅲ (P < 0.05) compared with group Ⅳ. No Nkx2.5, cTnT andDesmin espression was detected in group Ⅰ. After induction for 2 weeks, cells with spontaneous contractility were observed ingroups Ⅱ and Ⅲ, indicating differentiation towards cardiomyocyte after induction. Results demonstrated that induction effectswere similar between 100 mg/L AST+5 μmol/L 5-Aza and 10 μmol/L 5-Aza. This may contribute to cytoprotective effects of AST,which can promote vascular endothelial cell proliferation, enhance celss tolerance to 5-Aza-induced cytotoxicity and upregulatecardiac-specific protein expression.

Objective To explore the forensic pathological characteristics and the main identification points of fatal cardiac tamponade. Methods 38 cases of fatal cardiac tamponade from department of pathology, the first affiliated hospital of chengdu university of TCM from 2005 to 2015 were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively. Results Fatal cardiac tamponade mostly occurred to men (71.1%) with an average age of 44; Bloody effusion accounted for 85% of the direct causes of death (34 cases). The most underlying causes of death were diseases (73.7%), majorly aortic dissection, coronary heart disease and malignant tumors. Seventy five percent of death occurred within 12 hours of illness. Medical behaviors were involved in 30 cases (78.9%), of which 26 cases (86.7%)were without medical malpractice. The relationship between injury and disease was involved in 15 fatal cases (39.5%). Conclusion The basic requirement for accurately completing forensic medical appraisal of fatal cardiac tamponade cases was to master the forensic pathological characteristics and the path of forensic identification.

Objective To establish a PCR-based capillary electrophoresis(PCR/CE)to detect Survival Motor Neuron 1(SMN1)and Survival Motor Neuron 2(SMN2)genes and to evaluate its performance.Methods PCR/CE and Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification(MLPA)for SMA gene diagnosis were used to blindly test the samples in sync.The performance of PCR/CE was assessed using MLPA results as the standard.Results A total of 336 samples were included in this study,consisting of 50 homozygous deletion types(14.9%),65 heterozygous deletion types(19.3%),and 221 non-deletion types(65.8%).The results of PCR/CE for detect-ing SMN1 and SMN2 copy numbers(0,1,2,3,≥4)were in complete agreement with the results of the MLPA.Conclusions PCR/CE for gene testing related to SMA could accurately detect copy numbers of exon 7 and exon 8 of the SMN1 and SMN2 genes(0,1,2,3,≥4).