The larval and adult schistosomes can effectively establish the stable parasitic relationship with their final hosts and then maintain the parasitism for a long time,due to the successful adaptation to their parasitic lifestyle. This paper reviews the progress of research on parasitic adaptability of schistosomes in several respects,and demonstrates the application value of schisto-somal genes related to parasitic adaptability in schistosomiasis control and exploitation of natural active molecules.

AIM:To observe the effects of the combination of berberin and epirubicin on the cell cycle of T24 bladder cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms.METHODS:The cancer cells were exposed to epirubicin in the presence or absence of different concentrations of berberin.The viability of the cancer cells was determined by MTT assay.The cell cycle distribution was detected by flow cytometry, and the protein levels of cyclin D1, CDK2, CDK4, P21 and P27 were detected by Western blot.RESULTS:Berberine markedly enhanced the inhibitory effect of epirubicin on the viability of T24 cells and promoted epirubicin-induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase as compared with the negative control cells.Epirubicin increased the protein expression of P27 and P21, both of which were enhanced by treatment with berberin.In contrast, berberin exposure further decreased the protein expression of cyclin D1, CDK2 and CDK4 in epirubicin-treated T24 cells.CONCLUSION:Berberine significantly promotes epirubicin-induced G0 /G1 phase arrest in human bladder cancer cells by up-regulating P27 and P21 expression and inhibiting the expression of cyclin D1, CDK2 and CDK4.

Objective To compare and contrast the gene characteristic correspondence of hantaviruses(HV) carried by rats in natural epidemic areas of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS) and infected among HFRS patients in Shenzhen,provide a reasonable scientific basis for controlling of HFRS.Methods We collected the patients serum specimens in acute stage and lung tissues samples of rats.ElISA and direct immunofluorescence were applied to screen the positive samples,respectively.The partial G2 fragments of M segment and S segment were amplified from the representative patients' serum positivesamples and lung tissues positive samples in different areas with reverse transcription-nested-polymerase chain reaction(RT-nested PCR) by the hantaviruses genotype specific primers.The amplified genes were then sequenced,and subjected to genotyping and homology analysis with other known hantaviruses.Results Four hundred and seventy-two rats were trapped in the main epidemic areas,and Hantavirus specific-antigens in lung tissues samples were identified in 47 out of the 472 by direct immunofluorescence.Twelve partial M and S segments were amplified from 60 patients serum specimens positive with specific IgM antibodies against hantavirus with ELISA by RT-nested PCR.The homology of M and S genome segments among 16 strains of Hantaviruses showed more than 95% and 96.5% at nucleotide level,respectively.And the deduced amino acid sequences homology was 98.0% -100% and 98.4%-100%,respectively.The genotype of hantavirus carried by rats and infected among patients were identified to the same subtype-SEO S2.Conclusion The genotype of Hantavirus carried by rats and infected among patients in Shenzhen all belongs to S2 SEOV.The nucleotide homology of SEO type of Hantavirus in the same or nearby areas is higher and the viruses are highly conserved.

Hereditary gingival fibromatosis (HGF) is a rare inherited condition with fibromatoid hyperplasia of the gingival tissue that exhibits great genetic heterogeneity. Five distinct loci related to non-syndromic HGF have been identified; however, only two disease-causing genes, SOS1 and REST, inducing HGF have been identified at two loci, GINGF1 and GINGF5, respectively. Here, based on a family pedigree with 26 members, including nine patients with HGF, we identified double heterozygous pathogenic mutations in the ZNF513 (c.C748T, p.R250W) and KIF3C (c.G1229A, p.R410H) genes within the GINGF3 locus related to HGF. Functional studies demonstrated that the ZNF513 p.R250W and KIF3C p.R410H variants significantly increased the expression of ZNF513 and KIF3C in vitro and in vivo. ZNF513, a transcription factor, binds to KIF3C exon 1 and participates in the positive regulation of KIF3C expression in gingival fibroblasts. Furthermore, a knock-in mouse model confirmed that heterozygous or homozygous mutations within Zfp513 (p.R250W) or Kif3c (p.R412H) alone do not led to clear phenotypes with gingival fibromatosis, whereas the double mutations led to gingival hyperplasia phenotypes. In addition, we found that ZNF513 binds to the SOS1 promoter and plays an important positive role in regulating the expression of SOS1. Moreover, the KIF3C p.R410H mutation could activate the PI3K and KCNQ1 potassium channels. ZNF513 combined with KIF3C regulates gingival fibroblast proliferation, migration, and fibrosis response via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK pathways. In summary, these results demonstrate ZNF513 + KIF3C as an important genetic combination in HGF manifestation and suggest that ZNF513 mutation may be a major risk factor for HGF.
Animals ; Humans ; Mice ; Fibromatosis, Gingival/pathology* ; Gingiva ; Kinesins/genetics* ; Mutation/genetics* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/genetics*