AIM: To study the expression of glycine receptor (GlyR) in adult rat cardiac tissue and cultured cardiomyocytes from neonatal rat hearts. METHODS: Total RNA and membrane protein were extracted from cardiac tissue of adult rats and primary cultured cardiomyocytes from neonatal rat hearts, ?1 and ? subunits mRNA and protein of GlyR were detected with the method of reverse transcription nest DNA polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. RESULTS: The mRNA and protein expression of ? subunit were identified in the adult rat heart tissue and cultured cardiomyocytes, similar to the sequence and immunogenicity generated from GlyR ? subunit of the rat spinal cord; for ?1 subunit, mRNA was found in only cultured cardiomyocytes. CONCLUSION: These data demonstrate that adult rat cardiac tissue and cultured cardiomyocytes from neonatal rat hearts express mRNA and protein of GlyR subunits similar to the GlyR that expresses in the spinal cord, suggesting that GlyR exists in the membrane of the rat cardiomyocytes.

AIM: To investigate whether glycine receptor is involved in the protection of glycine against(anoxia/reoxygenation) injury in cardiomyocytes by detecting oxygen free radical metabolism,apoptosis and intracellular calcium overload.METHODS: The neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were cultured and exposed to anoxia and reoxygenation((A/R)) in the presence of glycine receptor antagonist,glycine or in free chloride buffer.The superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity,the contents of malondialdehyde(MDA) and nitric oxide(NO),the intracellular free calcium concentration and the apoptotic rate in the cardiomyocytes were determined.RESULTS: SOD activity and NO content in cardiomyocytes were lower,but MDA content,intracellular free calcium concentration and apoptotic rate in cardiomyocytes were higher in A/R group than those in control.Pretreatment with glycine inhibited the above changes caused by A/R,which was reversed by strychnine treatment and in the free chloride medium.CONCLUSIONS: Glycine inhibits free radical production,attenuates calcium overload,decreases apoptotic rate and increases SOD activity and NO release in cardiomyocytes exposed to(A/R).These findings suggest that glycine exerts a protective effect against A/R injury via glycine receptor and glycine protects the neonatal rat cardiomycytes from A/R-induced injury in a chloride-dependent manner.

At present, the cats play a more and more important role in medical experiments as an experimental animal,especially for the studies of neurology,physiology and toxicology. Compared with rodent animals,the physiological characteristics, anatomical features, pathological and biochemical reactions of cats are closer to human beings, and compared with the primate animals,they have advantages of economy,abundant resources and so on. Therefore,cat has an extensive application prospect in animal models of human diseases. This article mainly reviews and summarizes the establishing method and research status of cats as an animal model of human diseases in ophthalmology, nervous system, tumor and other fields in recent years.

Objective:To analyze the disease burden in middle-aged and elderly population aged ≥55 in Shenzhen from 2016 to 2030 and provide evidence for the development of healthy aging strategies.Methods:The years of life lost (YLL), years lost due to disability (YLD), and the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) in this population from 2016 to 2022 were calculated. Joinpoint log-linear regression model was used to analyze the time trend. Bayesian age-period-cohort model and grey system model were used to predict YLL, YLD, and DALY in this population in 2030.Results:From 2016 to 2022, the crude DALY rate showed a transient fluctuation in age group 55-74 years, but a pronounced increase in age group ≥85 years. The proportions of YLL and YLD due to non-communicable diseases in all age groups was considerably higher than those due to communicable and nutritional diseases and injuries. In 2022, in all age groups, the YLL due to neoplasms (55-74 years old) and cardiovascular disease (≥75 years old) ranked first, and the YLD due to musculoskeletal disorder ranked first. By 2030, the causes of YLL and YLD ranking first in each age group would be remained, while the ranks of some causes would increase.Conclusions:The age specific characteristics of current and predicted disease burden differed in individuals aged ≥55 years. Therefore, it is necessary to allocate social and medical resources according to the disease burden pattern.

Background::Although existing mycological tests (bronchoalveolar lavage [BAL] galactomannan [GM], serum GM, serum (1,3)-β-D-glucan [BDG], and fungal culture) are widely used for diagnosing invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in non-hematological patients with respiratory diseases, their clinical utility in this large population is actually unclear. We aimed to resolve this clinical uncertainty by evaluating the diagnostic accuracy and utility of existing tests and explore the efficacy of novel sputum-based Aspergillus assays. Methods::Existing tests were assessed in a prospective and consecutive cohort of patients with respiratory diseases in West China Hospital between 2016 and 2019 while novel sputum assays (especially sputum GM and Aspergillus-specific lateral-flow device [LFD]) in a case-controlled subcohort. IPA was defined according to the modified European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group criteria. Sensitivity and specificity were computed for each test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed. Results::The entire cohort included 3530 admissions (proven/probable IPA = 66, no IPA = 3464) and the subcohort included 127 admissions (proven/probable IPA = 38, no IPA = 89). Sensitivity of BAL GM (≥1.0 optical density index [ODI]: 86% [24/28]) was substantially higher than that of serum GM (≥0.5 ODI: 38% [39/102]) ( χ2 = 19.83, P < 0.001), serum BDG (≥70 pg/mL: 33% [31/95]) ( χ2 = 24.65, P < 0.001), and fungal culture (33% [84/253]) ( χ2 = 29.38, P < 0.001). Specificity varied between BAL GM (≥1.0 ODI: 94% [377/402]), serum GM (≥0.5 ODI: 95% [2130/2248]), BDG (89% [1878/2106]), and culture (98% [4936/5055]). Sputum GM (≥2.0 ODI) had similar sensitivity (84% [32/38]) (Fisher’s exact P = 1.000) to and slightly lower specificity (87% [77/89]) ( χ2 = 5.52, P = 0.019) than BAL GM (≥1.0 ODI). Area under the ROC curve values were comparable between sputum GM (0.883 [0.812-0.953]) and BAL GM (0.901 [0.824-0.977]) ( P = 0.734). Sputum LFD had similar specificity (91% [81/89]) ( χ2 = 0.89, P = 0.345) to and lower sensitivity (63% [24/38]) ( χ2 = 4.14, P = 0.042) than BAL GM (≥1.0 ODI), but significantly higher sensitivity than serum GM (≥0.5 ODI) ( χ2 = 6.95, P = 0.008), BDG ( χ2 = 10.43, P = 0.001), and fungal culture ( χ2 = 12.70, P < 0.001). Conclusions::Serum GM, serum BDG, and fungal culture lack sufficient sensitivity for diagnosing IPA in respiratory patients. Sputum GM and LFD assays hold promise as rapid, sensitive, and non-invasive alternatives to the BAL GM test.