Objective To explore the expression and distribution of calcineurin(CaN)in normal and failing human myocardium.Methods Left and right ventricles were obtained from end-staged heart failure patients(n=12)undergoing heart transplantation and donor hearts(n=5)taken from victims of vehicle accidents.Immunohistochemistry and SDS-PAGE technique were used to demonstrate expression and distribution of CaN. Results Positive immunoreactive staining for CaN was detected in human cardiomyocytes, cardiac fibroblasts and epicardial mesothelial cells,but not detected in cardiac vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells.There was no difference in CaN protein levels between failing hearts and donor hearts (Band intensity of right ventricle in failing hearts and donor hearts was 130.20±8.66 and 139.87±6.21, P=0.33.Band intensity of left ventricle in failing hearts and donor hearts was 106.45 and 126.34 ±12.09)and between left ventricular and right ventricular myocardium(Band intensity of left and right ventricles in failing hearts was 96.99±10.67 and 104.58±13.18, P=0.63.Band intensity of left and right ventricles in failing hearts was 132.12 and 120.74).Conclusions CaN is expressed in human cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts and epicardial mesothelial cells and the protein level and distribution of CaN are similar in failing and donor hearts.

Objective Application of the second metatarpophalangeal joint by traction prolong trans- plant repair the defects in the metacarpophalangeal joint,reconstruct the function of it.Methods By means of the apparatus to prolong finger in advance,then transplant the second metatarpophalangeal joint to recon- struct metacarpophalangeal joint for seven cases of obsolete defects in the metacarpophalangeal joint.Results The average of finger prolong was 2.6 cm,consultation from 1 to 4 years.average 2.5 years,thai the trans- plant joints have all survived and osteal concrescence.Through the criterion Chinese Medical Association,good rate was 85.7%. Conclusion It' s a good method to repair obsolete defects in the metacarpophalangeal joint by transplant traction prolong of the second metatarpophalangeal joint.

Objective To study the clinical features and prevention means of the infection caused by the highly dathogenic avian influenza A(H_5N_1).Method The clinical data which were confirmed to be an H_5N_1 infected case were analyzed retrospectively.Results The patient,16-year-old male,had no unambi guous history of direct contact with diseased or dead poultry before the onset of the disease.After the onset of the disease,chest X-ray showed flake shadow of the right lower lung quickly spread to the whole lung,associated with mediastinum,subcutaneous emphysema,acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS)was occurred on the fifth day.Mechanical ventilation is the primary measure in the comprehensive treatment.On the sixth day,Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention detected the pharyngeal specimen of the patient by RT - PCR,Real- time PCR method and suggested positive for the A/H5/N1 virus nucleic acid andis01ated the avian flu(H_5N_1) virus.The disease course was 10 days from onset of illness to death.Conclusions Human infection by the highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H_5N_1)is a deadly infectious disease.If the lesions is widespread and associated with ARDS,prognosis is poor.

OBJECTIVE: To construct a bi-cistronic co-expression plasmid for mouse interleukin-12 and to observe its expression in vitro or in vivo.METHODS: The full-length cDNA encoding p35 and p40 was cloned into eukaryotic cells expression vector pcDNA 3.1 respectively. Subsequently,the p35 expression unit was inserted into pcDNA 3.1/p40 to produce the bi-cistronic co-expression plasmid in which the p35 and p40 genes were controlled by their own CMV.The plasmid was expressed in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: The mIL-12 in the supernatant was detected by ELISA after the pCmIL-12 was transfected into COS-7 cells. The activity of NK cells could be augmented by the supernatant in vitro and also by by intradermal delivery of pCmIL-12 in vivo. CONCLUSION: The plasmid constructed by us can express biologically active mIL-12 in vitro and in vivo.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the therapeutic effect of cationic liposome-mediated interleukin-12 gene delivery on established murine melanoma in vivo.

METHODSThe lipofectin encapsulated pCmIL-12 plasmid was given to C57BL/6 mice on the day 3,5,7,9 after inoculation of B16 melanoma cells. The tumor size, the survival time of mice and the NK cell activity were observed.

RESULTSThe pCmIL-12 plasmid coupled with cationic liposome inhibited the tumor growth and improved the survival of mice bearing established melanoma. The activity of NK cells was also enhanced after interleukin-12 gene delivery in vivo.

CONCLUSIONCationic liposome-mediated interleukin-12 gene delivery has significantly therapeutic effects on mice melanoma in vivo.

Animals ; Cations ; DNA ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Interleukin-12 ; genetics ; therapeutic use ; Killer Cells, Natural ; immunology ; Liposomes ; Melanoma, Experimental ; pathology ; therapy ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relations between accessory nerve and its surrounding structures.

METHODSOne hundred and thirty six patients were divided into two groups: has or has no neck surgical history. Neck dissection were performed and the four distance were measured simultaneously. The distance of accessory nerve and the great auricular nerve going out the posterior edge of sternocleidomastoid muscle; the distance of the point accessory nerve going out the posterior edge of sternocleidomastoid muscle to clavicular midpoint; the distance of the point accessory nerve going out the posterior edge of sternocleidomastoid muscle to sternoclavicular articulation; the distance of the point accessory nerve enter trapezius muscle to clavicular midpoint.

RESULTSIn no neck dissection group, the point accessory nerve going out sternomastoid muscle were supra the point of great auricular nerve going out the sternomastoid muscle, the average length of two points is (0. 61 +/- 0. 35) cm , the significance has not observed between genders (P > 0.05), however, there has significant difference between two groups of has or has no neck surgical history (P < 0.05). 88.2% (112/127) accessory nerve going out supra the great auricular within 1.0 cm, 11.8% (15/127) within 1.0 approximately 2.0 cm. 67.7% (86/127) accessory nerve adopt branch from cervical plexus before entering trapezius. The distances of the point accessory nerve going out the posterior edge of sternocleidomastoid muscle to clavicular midpoint and to sternoclavicular articulation were significant relative not with before neck surgical history but gender. The distance of the point accessory nerve enter trapezius muscle to clavicular midpoint is (4.96 +/- 0.78) cm, it has no difference both before neck surgical history and gender (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn no neck surgical history group,both of the distance that accessory nerve and the great auricular nerve going out the posterior edge of sternocleidomastoid muscle and the point accessory nerve enter trapezius muscle to clavicular midpoint were helpful for search accessory nerve in surgery. But in patients who have neck surgical history or great auricular have been injured, accessory nerve could be looked for associating with the distances of the point accessory nerve going out the posterior edge of sternocleidomastoid muscle to clavicular midpoint and to sternoclavicular articulation; the distance of the point accessory nerve enter trapezius muscle to clavicular midpoint.

Accessory Nerve ; anatomy & histology ; surgery ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neck Dissection

Plasma obestatin level was determined in patients with impaired glucose regulation and type 2 diabetes mellitus.The plasma obestatin levels in patients of both groups were significantly decreased as compared with that in controls.Plasma obestatin level was negatively correlated with body mass index,HbA_(1C),waist-to-hip ratio,plasma insulin and HOMA-IR.Obestatin level seems to be related with metabolic disorder.

Objective To explore the replantation methods of the amputated tisue mass of fingers. Methods Fifteen cases were replanted using the physiological blood circulation replantation and the no physi- ological blood circulation replantation.Results All eleven cases survived with the physiological blood circu- lation replantation,one case failure with no physiological blood circulation replantation.Postoperative follow up ranged from six months to two years,with an average of fifteen months,the function and appearance were satis- factory.According to Hand Surgery of Chinese Medical Association' s functional evaluation in digital replanta- tion,eleven cases were excellent and two cases were good,the excellent and good rates were up to 86.7%. Conclusion For the amputated tissue mass of fingers,the physiological blood circulation replantation is the best choose.

Objective To explore inhibition of amlodipine on myocar-dial cell injury induced by ischemia reperfusion .Methods Thirty Wistar rats were randomly into three groups: sham operation group ( n =10 ) , model group group ( n =10 ) , test group ( 2 mg? kg -1 amlodipine , n=10).The model group and test group were made by ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery to make the model of myocardial ischemia reperfusion.Rats in each group were administered 7 d before ligation.Cell apoptosis was examed by flow dual staining method .The activity of cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 3 ( Caspase 3 ) was measured by spectrophotometry .The activation of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase ( PI3K)/protein kinase B ( AKT) signalling pathway, B-cell lymphoma-2 ( Bcl-2 ) , Bcl-2 associated X protein ( Bax ) were assayed by Western blot .Results Compared to sham operation group on early and late myocardial cell apoptosis , myocardial cell apoptosis with ( 2.34 ±0.35 )%, (3.58 ±0.39 )%, that on early and late myocardial cell apoptosis were increased with ( 15.69 ±1.14 )%, (24.74 ±2.56)%in model group ( P <0.05 ) .Compared to sham operation group on the activity of Bax with (0.18 ±0.01) and Caspase 3 activity with (1.00 ±0.10), the expression of Bax express with (0.62 ±0.06) and Caspase 3 activity with (3.98 ±0.18) in model group were increased (P<0.05).Compared to sham operation group on the expre-ssion of Bcl-2 with (0.99 ±0.10 ) and expression of PI3K with (0.89 ±0.06 ), on the expression of Bcl-2 with (0.14 ±0.01) and expression of PI3K with (0.18 ±0.01) in model group were decreased (P<0.05). Compared to sham operation group on phosphorylation of AKT with ( 0.95 ±0.10 ) , the phosphorylation of AKT in model group with (0.13 ±0.01 ) was decreased ( P<0.05 ).Compared with model group , test group could change the variation on the early and late myocardial cell apoptosis with ( 5.23 ±0.13 )%, ( 8.09 ±0.35 )% while on the Caspase 3 activity with ( 1.47 ±0.14 ) ( P<0.05 ) .Conclusion These results suggested that amlodipine inhibited myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury, which was related to activition PI3K/AKT signal pathway.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the association between transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta1) gene polymorphism and chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN).

METHODSFifty patients with failed renal allografts and clinically and histopathologically confirmed CAN were enrolled in this study along with another 50 renal transplant recipients with normal graft function. The DNA extracted from whole blood of the patients was amplified with PCR with sequence-specific primers for determining TGF-beta1 genotypes (position +869, codon 10 and position +915, codon 25). According to documented descriptions, the patients were classified into high and moderate-to-low cytokine production genotypes. The distribution frequencies of high production genotypes was then compared between CAN and non-CAN groups. To eliminate interference in the analysis of the association between TGF-beta1 polymorphism and CAN, other possible risk factors for CAN were screened, including the patients' gender, age, HLA match, delayed graft function, acute rejection, immunosuppressive regimen, cytomegalovirus infection, hypertension, and high cholesterol.

RESULTSCAN patients showed significantly greater proportion of high cytokine production genotype than the non-CAN group [70% (35/50) vs 38% (19/50), Chi(2)=10.306, P=0.001). Of the screened risk factors for CAN, only acute rejection showed some difference between the two groups, but analysis after subgrouping according to acute rejection did not suggest its influence on CAN, which supports the result that the rate of high production genotype was significantly higher in CAN group than in the non-CAN group.

CONCLUSIONMost CAN patients have high TGF-beta1 production genotype, which might be a risk factor for CAN after renal transplantation. TGF-beta1 genotyping can be of value in predicting the risk of CAN after renal transplantation.

Adult ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Graft Rejection ; genetics ; Humans ; Kidney Diseases ; genetics ; Kidney Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Risk Factors ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; genetics ; Transplantation, Homologous