Objective To observe adhesion and growth of Sehwann cells(SCs) on small intestinal submueosa(SIS) and study the bioeompatibility of SIS with SCs.Methods The SCs of SD neonate rat were isolated and cultured in vitro,then were seeded on prepared SIS.At different times,the adhesion,growth and proliferation of SCs on SIS were observed by phase contrast microscope,histological examination,scanning e- lectron microscope and transmission electron microscope.Results By phase contrast microscope,SCs grew well on the edge of SIS after 3 and 5 days.SCs adhered tightly on the surface of SIS after 5 days through histo- logical examination.By scanning electron microscope,on the surface of SIS,SCs grew and adhered actively, prominence of cells body were obvious.They connected end-to-end with each other or arranged in clusters. Protein granules were secreted on cells surface.By transmission electron microscope,SCs grew in good condi- tion and adhered tightly on the surface of SIS.At the interface of SCs and SIS,prominence was seen to contact with SIS in the bottom of cell body.Conclusion SCs are able to adhere and grow well on the surface of SIS.As a scaffold,SIS has good biocompatibility with SCs.

BACKGROUNDThe Toll-like receptors (TLRs) represent a group of single-pass transmembrane receptors expressed on sentinel cells that are central to innate immune responses.The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of soluble TLRs in pleural effusions, and the diagnostic values of TLRs for pleural effusion with various etiologies.

METHODSPleural effusion and serum samples were collected from 102 patients (36 with malignant pleural effusion, 36 with tuberculous pleural effusion, 18 with bacterial pleural effusion, and 12 with transudative pleural effusion). The concentrations of TLR1 to TLR10 were determined in effusion and serum samples by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Four classical parameters (protein, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose and C-reactive protein (CRP)) in the pleural fluid were also assessed. Receiver-operating characteristic curves were used to assess the sensitivity and specificity of pleural fluid TLRs and biochemical parameters for differentiating bacterial pleural effusion.

RESULTSThe concentrations of TLR1, TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 in bacterial pleural effusion were significantly higher than those in malignant, tuberculous, and transudative groups, respectively. Analysis of receiver operating characteristic curves revealed that the area under the curves of TLR1, TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 were 0.831, 0.843, 0.842, 0.883 and 0.786, respectively, suggesting that these TLRs play a role in the diagnosis of bacterial pleural effusion. Also, the diagnostic value of TLRs for bacterial pleural effusions was much better than that of biochemical parameters (protein, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose and CRP).

CONCLUSIONSThe concentrations of TLR1, TLR3, TLR4, TLR7 and TLR9 appeared to be increased in bacterial pleural effusion compared to non-bacterial pleural effusions. Determination of these pleural TLRs may improve the ability of clinicians to differentiate pleural effusion patients of bacterial origin from those with other etiologies.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bacterial Infections ; metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pleural Effusion ; metabolism ; microbiology ; Prospective Studies ; Toll-Like Receptor 1 ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 3 ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 4 ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 7 ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptor 9 ; metabolism ; Toll-Like Receptors ; metabolism ; Young Adult

Objective To use tri-operator breast blood oxygen imaging in diagnosis of early stage breast cancer.Methods To analysis and diagnosis eighty cases with the technology of breast blood oxygen imaging.Results The accurate rate of the diagnosis made by technology of breast blood oxygen imaging was 93.75%,the sensitivity of diagnosis was 90.63%,the specificity was 95.83%.Conclusions The technology of breast blood oxygen imaging without the radiation may be a better methods to diagnosis the breast diseases,which has the higher sensitivity than infrared rays examination on breast cancer diagnosis.

In this paper, we studied the relationship between the prostaglandin F(2alpha) (PGF(2alpha))-induced cardiac hypertrophy and calcineurin (CaN) signal transduction pathway in vivo and in vitro. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were given a single i.p. injection with monocrotaline (MCT) (60 mg/kg) and then given orally with celecoxib (20 mg/kg) or vehicle once a day for 14 d before (from d 1 to d 14) or after (from d 15 to d 28) right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) was formed. Body weight (BW), right ventricular weight (RV), left ventricular with septum weight (LV), as well as lung weight were determined. RVH index (RVHI=RV/LV), RV/BW, and lung weight/BW were calculated and histological changes were observed with transmission electron microscope. PGF(2alpha) level, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and CaN mRNA expressions, expression of CaN and its downstream effectors, NFAT(3) and GATA(4) protein were assayed by EIA kit, RT-PCR, and Western blotting, respectively. The cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in primary culture induced by PGF(2alpha) (0.1 micromol/L) was evaluated by measuring the cell diameter, protein content, and ANP mRNA as well as CaN mRNA expressions. It was found that 14 d or 28 d after MCT was given, the RVHI, RV/BW, and lung weight/BW were significantly increased by 47%, 53% and 118%, and by 64%, 94% and 156%, respectively; at the same time PGF(2alpha) levels in RV tissue were increased by 44% and by 51% with increasing RVHI, and elevated expressions of ANP and CaN mRNA, as well as CaN, NFAT(3) and GATA(4) proteins in a positive correlation manner. Furthermore, some histological injuries were found in RV tissue. Celecoxib, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, obviously blunted the elevation of RVHI, RV/BW, and lung weight/BW no matter it was given before or after RVH. In vitro experiments showed that 0.1 micromol/L PGF(2alpha) significantly increased the cardiomyocyte diameter and protein content, and promoted ANP and CaN mRNA expressions, which was blocked by cyclosporin A, a CaN inhibitor. Our results indicate that PGF(2alpha) may be involved in cardiac hypertrophy induced by MCT in rats through CaN signal transduction pathway.
Animals ; Calcineurin ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Dinoprost ; metabolism ; physiology ; Hypertrophy, Right Ventricular ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Male ; Monocrotaline ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; metabolism ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction ; physiology

OBJECTIVETo discuss the integrated autologous fat graft technique in face recontouring.

METHODSIn this study we treated 83 cases of face recontouring with 3L3M technique (low pressure suction, low speed centrifugation, low volume, multi-plane, multi-tunnel, multi-point injection). Each case was treated 1-3 times and the interval period is 3-6 months. The result was based on comparing the photos taken from pre-operation and post operation, observing the expression recovery, cysts, local absorption, and patients self evaluation.

RESULTSLong time follow up showed that fat graft can be alive in the recipient site for long time after 1-3 times autologous fat injection. More than 73.5% patients were satisfactory with the curative effect while less than 4.8% patients were unsatisfactory.

CONCLUSION3L3M integrated fat graft technique is an effective and safe treatment in face recontouring.

Adipose Tissue ; transplantation ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Face ; surgery ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Transplantation, Autologous ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Current studies have demonstrated that SLC38A1 proteins play a causal role in neoplastic cell transformation.The twofold aim of this study was to provide insight into whether a variance in the expression of SLC38A1 exists between human colorectal cancer and healthy human tissues and to determine how silencing or overexpressing the SLC38A1 gene could affect the proliferation,viability and migration of colorectal cancer cells.Immunohistochemical staining was used to analyze the expression of SLC38A1 in colorectal cancer tissues and adjacent normal mucosa in 77 patients who underwent surgical resection.The expression of SLC38A1 in colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines was detected using RT-PCR and Western blotting.Two colorectal cancer cell lines SW480 and HCT116 were used to examine whether silencing SLC38A1 with siRNA and overexpressing SLC38A1 with shRNA could affect cell viability and migration.As a result,the SLC38A1 protein was very low or undetectable in the normal colon mucosa.In contrast,strong staining of SLC38A1 protein was found in the cytoplasm in 79.2％ colorectal cancer samples.More pronounced SLC38A1 expression in colorectal cancer tissues was significantly associated with tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage.Inhibition of SLC38A1 reduced tumour growth and suppressed proliferation and migration of SW480 cells.In contrast,overexpression of SLC38A1 had the opposite effects on HCT116 cells.S LC38A1 is overexpressed in colorectal cancer,which suggests that it is associated with tumour progression.These results encourage the exploration of SLC38A1 as a target for intervention in colorectal cancer.

Objective:To explore the effects of hypoxia and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) on the invasion of cervical cancer cells in vitro.Methods:Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to analyze the effects of normoxia and hypoxia on the secretion level of TSLP, and to analyze the effects of recombinant human TSLP (rhTSLP) protein on the expression levels of matrix metalloprotein-2 (MMP-2), MMP-9, and IL-8 in cervical cancer cell lines HeLa and CaSki.Matrigel invasion assay was used to investigate the effects of rhTSLP, hypoxia, and anti-human TSLP (aTSLP) neutralizing antibody (aTSLP, 5 μg/mL) on the invasiveness of HeLa and CaSki cells in vitro.Results:Under hypoxia exposure, the levels of TSLP secretion in HeLa and CaSki cells were significantly increased (P<0.01).RhTSLP (100 ng/mL) stimulation in vitro significantly enhanced the invasiveness of HeLa and CaSki cells (P<0.001), and promoted the productions of MMP-2, MMP-9, and IL-8 (P<0.01).The invasiveness of HeLa and CaSki cells can be promoted significantly under hypoxia exposure (P<0.001).In contrast, aTSLP (5 μg/mL) inhibited the invasiveness of HeLa and CaSki cells (P<0.05), and partly inhibited the stimulatory effect of hypoxia on invasiveness of HeLa and CaSki cells (P<0.05).Conclusions:Hypoxia facilitates the invasion of cervical cancer cells in vitro by up-regulating the secretion of TSLP.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between the polymorphic (AT)n repeats in 3ountranslated region of exon 4 of CTLA4 gene [CTLA4(AT)n] and Graveso disease (GD) in Zhuang nationality population of Guangxi province.

METHODSThe studied groups comprised 48 patients with GD and 44 normal controls. Amplification of target DNA was carried out by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The amplified products were run by 8% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and then followed by 0.1% silver staining. Some of amplified products were sequenced directly.

RESULTSNineteen alleles of CTLA4 gene microsatellite polymorphism were found in Guangxi Zhuang nationality individuals. The 106 bp long allele was apparently increased in patients with GD of Zhuang nationality but not in healthy controls (P< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONCTLA4 gene microsatellite polymorphism is strongly associated with Graveso disease in Zhuang nationality population of Guangxi province. CTLA4(AT)n 106 bp may be the susceptible gene in GD patients of Zhuang nationality in Guangxi; 19 alleles of CTLA4 gene microsatellite polymorphism were found in Guangxi Zhuang nationality individuals.

Adult ; Antigens, CD ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; CTLA-4 Antigen ; China ; Dinucleotide Repeats ; genetics ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; genetics ; Graves Disease ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVEEarly diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is difficult due to the insufficient specificity of the conventional examination method. This study was to investigate potential and consistent biomarkers for NPC, particularly for early detection of NPC.

METHODSA proteomic pattern was identified in a training set (134 NPC patients and 73 control individuals) using the surface-enhanced laser desorption and ionization-mass spectrometry (SELDI-MS), and used to screen the test set (44 NPC patients and 25 control individuals) to determine the screening accuracy. To confirm the accuracy, it was used to test another group of 52 NPC patients and 32 healthy individuals at 6 months later.

RESULTSEight proteomic biomarkers with top-scored peak mass/charge ratios (m/z) of 8605 Da, 5320 Da, 5355 Da, 5380 Da, 5336 Da, 2791 Da, 7154 Da, and 9366 Da were selected as the potential biomarkers of NPC with a sensitivity of 90.9% (40/44) and a specificity of 92.0% (23/25). The performance was better than the current diagnostic method by using the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) capsid antigen IgA antibodies (VCA/IgA). Similar sensitivity (88.5%) and specificity (90.6%) were achieved in another group of 84 samples.

CONCLUSIONSELDI-MS profiling might be a potential tool to identify patients with NPC, particularly at early clinical stages.

Adult ; Aged ; Algorithms ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Antigens, Viral ; blood ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; blood ; Capsid Proteins ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; blood ; diagnosis ; Neoplasm Proteins ; blood ; Proteomics ; methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization ; methods

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether total triterpene acids (TTAs), isolated from Cornus Fructus, attenuates renal function by reducing oxidative stress and down-regulating the expression of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1).

METHODSDiabetes was induced by an injection of streptozotocin (40 mg/kg intravenously). Thirty rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group, diabetic model group and TTAs treatment group (50 mg/kg, intragastrically) administrated for 8 weeks from 5th to 12th week. All rats were anaesthetized and then were killed to remove kidneys. The renal function and redox enzyme system parameters were tested. Glomerular morphology was observed by a light microscopy. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot assays were employed to determine the protein levels of TGF-β1.

RESULTSTTAs attenuated the levels of urinary protein, serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, although it did not significantly reduce the level of glucose. In addition, TTAs decreased the malondialdehyde while increased superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxide activities in diabetic rats. The renal pathological changes in TTAs treatment group were ameliorated. Furthermore, TTAs also ameliorated the expression of TGF-β1.

CONCLUSIONTTAs improved renal function via reducing oxidative stress and down-regulation the expression of TGF-β1 in diabetic rats.

Animals ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Blotting, Western ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Catalase ; metabolism ; Cornus ; chemistry ; Creatinine ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; blood ; drug therapy ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Disease Progression ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Hypertrophy ; Kidney ; drug effects ; pathology ; physiopathology ; Kidney Function Tests ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Streptozocin ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism ; Triterpenes ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use