Objective To investigate the spatiotemporal expression patterns and the relationship of ?-sarcomeric actin(?-SCA),?-smooth muscle actin(?-SMA) and intermediate filament protein desmin with the maturation of the prenatal and the neonatal mouse hearts.Methods Serial sections of the embryo mouse and the neonatal mouse hearts were immunostained with antibodies against ?-SCA,?-SMA and desmin.Results Ventricle and outflow tract of embryonic day(ED) 9 heart showed stronger expression of ?-SCA and ?-SMA,but desmin expression was lower.In the atrium,the expressions of ?-SCA and ?-SMA were restricted to the dorsal and ventral walls.In the sinus venosus,only a few weakly stained ?-SCA positive cells were detected.No desmin expression was found in the atrium and sinus venosus.The expressions of ?-SCA,?-SMA and desmin were increased to their highest level at ED 12.The higher expression of ?-SCA remained to the postnatal stages.After ED 12,the expressions of ?-SMA and desmin gradually decreased in different parts of the heart,but their expressions in the right ventricle persisted longer.After birth,desmin expression was mainly concentrated in the Z lines of I bands and intercalated disks.Conclusion The presence of spatiotemporal differences in the expression of ?-SMA and desmin reveals regional differences in cardiomyocyte maturation in various parts of the embryonic mouse heart.The right ventricle shows a relatively slow pace of maturation.The ?-SMA may contribute to a peristaltoid contraction pattern of the embryonic myocardium with a slow shortening speed,and a relatively higher level of desmin is required for the maturation of the sarcomere.

Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction

Objective To compare and analyze the transcriptome of rhizome and leaves of Dioscorea zingiberensis, and excavate the key enzyme genes related to the saponin biosynthetic pathway in D. zingiberensis. Methods The transcriptome of rhizome and leaves of D. zingiberensis were sequenced by Illumina HiSeq2000 high-throughput sequencing technique. According to sequence annotate results to find the differentially expressed genes. Then the key enzyme genes related to the biosynthesis of diosgenin were identified according to the content of saponins in rhizomes and leaves of D. zingiberensis. The expression levels of some candidate genes were analyzed by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). Results A total of 81 660 Unigenes were gained and 64.33% of them were annotated in NT, NR, Swiss-Prot, KOG, GO, and KEGG databases. Based on their expression and KEGG annotation, totally 227 catalytic enzyme genes of 29 kinds that may participate in D. zingiberensis saponin biosynthetic pathway were screened. The expression pattern of some catalytic enzymes was correlated with the content of saponin. Also were found five D. zingiberensis endophyte genes. Conclusion This experiment obtained candidate key enzyme genes tentatively that involved in the biosynthesis of saponin. Some candidate enzyme genes may participate in the post-modification process of steroidal saponins in D. zingiberensis. In additon, it was found that D. zingiberensis endotrophic bacteria may be involved in the saponin biosynthesis. The results laid a foundation to further elucidate the molecular mechanism of sapogenin synthesis pathway.

Congresses as Topic ; Humans ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of American Ginseng Capsule (AGC) on the liver oxidative injury and the Nrf2 protein expression in the liver tissue of rats exposed by 900 MHz cell phone electromagnetic radiation.

METHODSTotally 40 male SD rats were randomly divided into the normal control group, the model group, the Shuifei Jibin Capsule (SJC) group, and the AGC group,10 in each group. Rats in the normal control group were not irradiated. Rats in the rest three groups were exposed by imitated 900 MHz cellular phone for 4 h in 12 consecutive days. Meanwhile, rats in the SJC group and the AGC group were intragastrically administrated with suspension of SJC and AGC (1 mL/200 g body weight) respectively. Normal saline was administered to rats in the normal control group and the model group. The histolomorphological changes of the liver tissue were observed by HE staining. Contents of malonic dialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX)were detected by colorimetry. The Nrf2 protein expression of hepatocytes was detected by immunohistochemical assay and Western blot.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, hepatocyte nucleus was atrophied or partially disappeared, the contents of liver MDA and Nrf2 protein obviously increased (P <0. 05, P <0. 01); contents of liver SOD and GSH decreased (P <0. 05) in the model group. Compared with the model group, karyopyknosis was obviously attenuated and approached to the normal level in the SJC group and the AGC group. The contents of liver MDA and Nrf2 protein expression decreased (P <0. 05), and the contents of liver SOD, GSH, and GSH-PX obviously increased (P < 0.05) in the SJC group. The contents of liver MDA and the Nrf2 protein expression decreased (P < 0.05), and contents of SOD and GSH obviously increased in the AGC group (P <0.01, P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe electromagnetic radiation induced by 900 MHz cell phone could affect the expression of Nrf2 protein, induce oxidative injury, and induce abnormal morphology of liver cells. SJC and AGC could promote the morphological recovery of the liver cells. Its mechanism might be related to affecting the expression of Nrf2 protein and attenuating oxidative damage of liver cells.

Animals ; Cell Phone ; Electromagnetic Radiation ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Hepatocytes ; metabolism ; Liver ; Male ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Panax ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism

Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Vascular Diseases ; prevention & control

Apnea ; epidemiology ; pathology ; therapy ; Birth Weight ; China ; epidemiology ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors

Objective: To investigate the toxicity and mechanisms of celastrol (CEL) on human biliary epithelial cells. Methods: The effects of CEL on cell morphology and cell viability changes were observed by CCK-8 experiment and microscope. Cell scratch experiment was used to detect the effect of CEL on cell migration. The effects of CEL on cell cycle and cell apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein expression of apoptosis-related genes Caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2 were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Results: CEL inhibited cell proliferation and changed cell morphology at 400-2 000 nmol/L. At 200-800 nmol/L, cell migration was inhibited. At 800-1 200 nmol/L, G0/G1 phase was arrested. At 400-1 200 nmol/L, cell apoptosis was induced and the expression of apoptosis-related genes was increased. Conclusion: CEL showed cholangiocyte toxicity through affecting cell viability, cell migration, preventing cell cycle and promoting cell apoptosis of human biliary epithelial cells.

Objective To investigate the effects of atorvastatin on the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis(EAE)and the underlying mechanism of immunoregulation.Method The Wistar rats were used to establish EAE model.After oral administration of 2, 8 mg? kg~(1)?d~(1)of atorvastatin, the rats were examined for the development of neurological signs, changes of histopathology and the expression of IL-4 and MMP-9.Result Though high dose treatment with atorvastatin, the frequency of EAE attacks degreased from 76.67% to 33.33%(P=0.008);the extent of inflammation degreased from 3.2?1.1 to 1.3?0.4(P=0.01);and the number of MMP-9 positive cells degreased from 37?7 to 26?5(P= 0.001), the expression of IL-4 could be increased from(0.35?0.12)ng/ml to(0.68?0.23)ng/ml (P=0.05).Conclusion Atorvastatin can reduce the inflammation and produce the recover of the neurological harm because of the changes of MMP-9 and IL-4.

Background Noninvasive methods such as in vivo confocal microscopy and Orbscan Ⅱ corneal topography have been used to examine ocular surface structure at the cellular level.However,very few domestic reports about the corneal structures of experimental animals investigated by confocal microscopy are available.Objective This study was to compare the anatomical differences of the corneal structures of three frequently used experimental animals presented by in vivo confocal microscopy,and to offer a database on the information provided by the in vivo study of the corneal structures of these animals.Methods Bilateral corneas of 3 clean adult male New Zealand rabbits,3 clean adult male Lewis rats and 3 clean adult male Swiss mice were examined by in vivo confocal microscopy.The morphological characteristics of every layer of the corneas and the endothelial cell densities were analyzed and compared.Results Superficial epithelium cells of the three animal models were characterized as polygon cells with high or low reflective border.The arrangement of the basal epithelial cells was regular with tight contacts but these cells lacked visible nuclei.The Bowman' s layer of cornea presented as an amorphous sheet containing abundant subepithelial plexus.In the rabbits,a highly reflective structure in the corneal stroma wasconfirmed as the nucleus,and the cell density of the posterior stroma was significantly lower than that of anterior stroma(387.5 cells/mm2 versus 223.5 cells/mm2)(U =0.000,P =0.000).Massive light-reflecting astreoids were displayed in the stroma of the rats and the mice.Corneal endothelial cells(CECs)of the three animal models had similar shapes and arrangements,presenting with high refractive cell bodies with dark borders and honeycomb-like arrangements.The CECs densities were 2192.5,1936.0,1565.0 cells/mm2 in the New Zealand rabbits,Lewis rats and Swiss mice,respectively,showing a statistically significant difference among them(H =49.940,P =0.000),and that of the rabbits was significantly higher than that in the rats and mice(x2 =0.000,P =0.000;x2 =0.000,P=0.000).Significant difference was also seen between the rats and the mice in the CECs densities(x2=0.000,P=0.000).Conclusions The CECs of the three animal modes are similar in morphology.But the structures of their stromal cells and endothelial cell densities are different.The combination of in vivo confocal microscopy and Orbscan Ⅱ corneal topography offers high-resolution imaging for each layer of the cornea.