Objective. To study the role of endogenous carbon monoxide (CO) in endotoxin shock. Methods. The changes of CO levels and the effects of zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP),an inhibitor of heme-oxygenase (HO), in endotoxin shock and the efficacy of hemin,an inducer of HO were investigated.Results. The plasma CO levels were found to be significantly increased during the course of endotoxin shock. Injection of ZnPP was shown to abrogate the endotoxin-induced hypotension and metabolic derangements markedly. Administration of hemin to healthy rabbits revealed the hypotension and metabolic derangements similar to the animals given endotoxin.Conclusion.CO is a newly found endogenously produced mediator which may play an important role in the pathogenesis of endotoxin shock.

BACKGROUNDTo study the association between psychosocial factors and the development of lung cancer.

METHODSCase-control matched study was employed in the study. A standardized life event, social support and defense mechanisms interview was administered respectively. Total 118 lung cancer patients who were diagnosed pathologically were chosen as case group, and 118 matched healthy people were as control group. The pair had the same gender, the same race, and the same occupation, and lived in the same area, and the age difference between the two groups was ±3 years.

RESULTSUnivariate analysis showed that smoking, defect of sleeping, alcohol consuming, smoking and drinking during meal, preserved food consuming, irregularity of life increased the risk of lung cancer development (P < 0.05). The scores of life events, social support had no significant difference between two groups (P > 0.05), but the scores of stress life events was higher in cancer group than that in control group. The immature factors of defense mechanisms in cancer group were higher than those in control group (P < 0.05). Multiple qualified logistic regression showed that smoking and defect of sleeping were the main risk factors of lung cancer genesis.

CONCLUSIONSThere is certain association between psychosocial factors and lung cancer development. The immature defensive factor is the psychosocial factor of lung cancer genesis, and smoking, defect of sleeping, alcohol consuming, smoking and drinking during meal, preserved food consuming, irregularity of life are the risk factors of lung cancer.

Objective.The aim of the study was to determine whether bronchial asthma was associated with increased levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1(Sicam-1) in serum, which might be valuble data for the effective therapy of these patients.Patients and methods.The concentrations of Sicam-1 were determined in sera of healthy donors and asthmatic patients using a sensitive enzyme immunoassay.Results.The mean(±SD) levels of serum Sicam-1 of 26 asthmatic patients (205±72.0 μg/L)was significantly higher than that of the 30 healthy volunteers (154±63.9 μg/L,P＜0.01). There was no much difference between the serum levels in 12 patients suffering from atopic asthma and the levels in 14 patients with nonatopic asthma. The serum concentrations of Sicam-1 were higher during asthma attacks than that during remissions in the same patients (P＜0.05).Conclusion.These results suggest that Sicam-1 may play a certain role in the pathophysiology of bronchial asthma,and might be signals for successful treatment.

Lycophytes and seed plants constitute the typical vascular plants. Lycophytes have been thought to have no paleo-polyploidization although the event is known to be critical for the fast expansion of seed plants. Here, genomic analyses including the homologous gene dot plot analysis detected multiple paleo-polyploidization events, with one occurring approximately 13-15 million years ago (MYA) and another about 125-142 MYA, during the evolution of the genome of Selaginella moellendorffii, a model lycophyte. In addition, comparative analysis of reconstructed ancestral genomes of lycophytes and angiosperms suggested that lycophytes were affected by more paleo-polyploidization events than seed plants. Results from the present genomic analyses indicate that paleo-polyploidization has contributed to the successful establishment of both lineages-lycophytes and seed plants-of vascular plants.
Evolution, Molecular ; Genome, Plant ; Genomics ; Phylogeny ; Polyploidy ; Selaginellaceae/genetics*