Light and electron microscopic observations revealed that most of the embryos collected 15-16 hours after fertilization were at the pronuclear stage. Many supernumerary spermatozoa were found on the surface and in the outer zone of the zona pellucida, but none of them got into the inner zone of the zona or the perivitelline space. Some spermatozoa on the zona surface were observed in acrosome reaction stage, and those penetrated into the zona always left some acrosome reaction vesicles behind on the surface of the zona. The fertilized ovum eliminated almost all of its cortical granules and where there were some granules left, in the area that the plasma membrane had fewer microvilli. The cortical cytoplasm of the pronuclear zygote was populated with clustered hooded mitochondria, SER vesicles, yolk vacuoles and lipid droplets. Directly surrounding the pronucleus were a variety of organelles including welldeveloped Golgi complex, SER, mitochondria and annulate lamellae. The significance of these morphological changes of the fertilized ovum was discussed.

Objective To determine the effect of dihydroartiminisin on the proliferation and phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in SKOV3 and OVCAR3 ovarian cancer cell lines.Methods Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay was performed to evaluate the anti-proliferative effect of dihydroartiminisin in SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells,and Western blot was used to determine its effect on phosphorylation level of MAPK,including extra-cell regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 and p38 protein kinase,in the two cell lines.Results Dihydroartiminisin inhibited the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells in vitro,with a mean of 50% inhibition concentration (IC50) at 72 h of (9.0 ±1.4) μmol/L for SKOV3 and (5.5 ±1.2)μmol/L for OVCAR3 respectively. Compared to cells without dihydroartiminisin treatment,phosphorylation level of ERK 1/2 in SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells treated with dihydroartiminisin decreased by 64.2% and 75.3% respectively (P＜0.05),while phosphorylation of p38 protein kinase in SKOV3 and OVCAR3 only decreased by 8.5% and 6.4% respectively (P ＞0.05).Conclusion Dihydroartiminisin can inhibit the proliferation of ovarian cancer cell in vitro, probably through down-regulation of the phosphorylation of ERK 1/2 in ovarian cancer cells.

The cytoplasmic and nuclear changes during the development of goat oocytes were studied with light and electron microscopy. The oocyte development may be divided into 8 stages in accordance with the number and distribution of follicle cells and the size of the follicle. The results indicated that the Golgi complex, mitochondria, smooth endoplasmic reticulum and cortical granules became well developed and they moved into the cortical region as the oocyte development proceeded. In the oocytes in the follicle of 1.5-3mm in diameter, all the mitochondria became hooded and the number and size of fibrillar centers in the nucleolus reached maximum, but the nucleolar compaction still not occured at this stage. By the time when the follicle reached 3.5-5mm in diameter, the follicular cell processes began to degenerate, the microvilli of the oocyte withdrew from the zona pellueida and the oocytes might be cultured to mature in vitro. In the mature oocytes, Golgi complex and rough endoplasmic reticulum disappeared, the cortical granules arranged themselves in one layer beneath the oolemma, the mitochondria dispersed in the central region of cytoplasm and the eggs were ready for fertilization.

Objective To analyze the correlation of preoperative serum vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)level with serum CA125 level in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer(EOC),and to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative serum VEGF in these patients.Methods Forty-one patients with EOC were included as study group,while 20 healthy women were selected as control group.Enzymelinked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)and chemiluminescence assay were used to measure serum VEGF and CA125 level respectively.The correlations of serum VEGF with CA125 level,postoperative recurrence rate and survival time were analyzed retrospectively.Resuits Serum VEGF levels in patients with EOC were higher than those in healthy women,with the median of 415 and 165 ng/L,range 110-2120 and 100-735 ng/L respectively(P＜0.01).No correlation was found between preoperative serum VEGF and CA125 level (Spearman test,P=0.989).High preoperative serum VEGF was positively correlated with postoperative recurrence.Serum VEGF level in patients with postoperative recurrence was higher than that in patients without recurrence,with the median of 490 and 315 ng/L respectively(P=0.035).Univariate analysis showed that higher serum level was reversely correlated with shorter survival.Median overall survival time in patients with higher serum VEGF level and lower serum VEGF level was 18 months and＞35 months respectively(P=0.010).Multivariate Cox model analysis showed that high VEGF level was an independentfactor for the prognosis of EOC(P=0.042).Conclusion Preoperative serum VEGF level is not correlated with CA125 concentration in patients with EOC,and it is an independent risk factor for prognosis.

BACKGROUNDNumerous studies have described the association between polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) gene and risk of endometriosis. However, the results remain controversial. Here we reviewed studies reporting the association between TNF gene polymorphisms and endometriosis risk in Asians.

METHODSPubMed and Embase were searched. Twelve case-control studies assessing the role of multiple TNF gene polymorphisms in endometriosis were included. If no less than two articles evaluated one variant, meta-analysis was conducted; otherwise, narrative analysis was chosen. A fixed- or random-effects model was employed according to the heterogeneity among studies. The strength of the association between TNF gene polymorphisms and endometriosis risk was assessed by odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTSFor TNF-α -238G>A, -308G>A, -857C>T, and -863C>A, no significant associations were identified from all genetic models. For TNF-a -850T>C, results from one study showed that patients harboring the heterozygote TC were less susceptible to endometriosis than patients harboring the homozygote TT. For TNF-a -1031T>C, a mild increase in endometriosis risk was found in the Asian population. Meta-analysis from two studies found that the TNF-β +252>G polymorphism had a protective effect in Chinese individuals. Due to the limitations of the included studies, it is necessitated to perform more studies to elucidate the possible roles of TNF gene polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

CONCLUSIONSTNF-α -1031T>C and TNF-β +252A>G were significantly associated with the risk of endometriosis in Asian and Chinese populations, respectively. To further evaluate these associations, more large-scale, rigorously designed studies are needed.

Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Case-Control Studies ; Endometriosis ; epidemiology ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; genetics ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics

Objective: To investigate the expression of syndecan-1 and syndecan-2 and their clinicopathological significance in patients with gallbladder squamous cell (SC)/adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) and adenocarcinoma (AC). Methods: A total of 126 patients with SC/ASC (n=46) and AC (n=80) were included in this study. The expression levels of syndecan-1 and syndecan-2 were detected by Envison™ immunohistochemistry assay. The clinical and prognostic significance of syndecan-1 and syndecan-2 were analyzed. Results: In the 46 SC/ASC samples, syndecan-1 and syndecan-2 were positively expressed in 29 (63.0%) and 28 (60.9%) tumor tissues, respectively. (Positive expression was defined based on the staining in the component of squamous cell carcinoma. That is to say, the tissue which adenocarcinoma part was positively stained, but squamous cell carcinoma part was negatively stained is also regarded as negative.) In the 80 AC samples, 47 (58.8%) cases showed syndecan-1 positive expression, and 51 (63.8%) showed syndecan-2 positive expression. There was no significant difference in the positive rates of syndecan-1 and syndecan-2 between SC/ASC and AC groups (P>0.05 for all). The levels of syndecan-1 and syndecan-2 were associated with tumor size, TNM staging, lymph node metastasis, invasion of adjacent tissue, and surgical procedures in SC/ASC patients (P<0.05 for all). However, their expression was associated with tumor differentiation, tumor size, TNM staging, lymph node metastasis, invasion of adjacent tissue, and surgical procedures in AC patients (P<0.05 for all). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of SC/ASC and AC patients revealed that the average survival time for patients with positive syndecan-1 and syndecan-2 expression was significantly shorter than that of those with negative expression (P<0.01 for all). Cox multivariate analysis indicated that syndecan-1 and syndecan-2 expression were independent unfavorable prognostic factors for SC/ASC and AC patients (P<0.05 for all). Conclusion The syndecan-1 and syndecan-2 expression are associated with the tumor progression and poor prognosis in patients with gallbladder SC/ASC and AC.