Objective To assess the fixation efficiency and biocompatibility of the absorbable high strength poly L lactide (SC PLLA) screws which were designed and made by us through a new material reinforcement process, solid state compression (SC), by investigating the healing and tissue reaction of the rabbits which were given femoral osteotomy and fixed with the screws. Method The right femoral condyles of 12 New Zealand rabbits were first cut off and then fixed with a SC PLLA screw. They were sacrificed at 4, 8, 12, and 36 weeks postoperatively to exam their femurs radiologically and histologically. Results At all the sites of osteotomy was seen obvious formation of bony callus. There were no significant displacements at all the operative sides. Histologically, bony union showed at the site of osteotomy and direct connection between the bone and the implants was observed. Conclusion SC PLLA screws can provide sufficient internal fixation for the load bearing cancellous bone, and possess excellent biocompatibility.

OBJECTIVETo correlate morphological features with mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in lung adenocarcinomas.

METHODSAccording to 2011 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer/American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society International Multidisciplinary Lung Adenocarcinoma Classification, a total of 72 surgically resected lung adenocarcinomas were collected and classified into different histological subtypes and different cell types (hobnail, columnar and polygonal). EGFR gene mutation was detected with the amplification refractory mutation method provided by the EGFR mutation test kit. The correlation between these subtypes and EGFR mutations were evaluated.

RESULTSMutations of EGFR were detected in 48.6% (35/72) of lung adenocarcinomas; 19del and L858R were major mutational types (88.6%, 31/35). EGFR mutations were associated with female gender, non-smoking status, and well to moderately differentiated tumor histology. EGFR mutation types were not associated with age, smoking index, lymph node metastasis, stage, status of whether have or not have inclusion bodies or psammoma bodies and mitotic level. Correlations were observed between acinar and papillary adenocarcinoma subtypes and EGFR mutations according to the new classification. EGFR mutation was rare in the subtype of solid adenocarcinoma with mucin production and almost never observed in special subtypes (mainly mucinous and colloid adenocarcinoma). In addition, EGFR mutation was associated with the hobnail cell type.

CONCLUSIONLung adenocarcinomas of predominate acinar and papillary histological subtypes with hobnail cell morphology are good predictors for EGFR mutations.

Adenocarcinoma ; genetics ; pathology ; Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; genetics ; pathology ; Adenocarcinoma, Papillary ; genetics ; pathology ; Female ; Genes, erbB-1 ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Mutation ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; genetics ; Sex Factors ; Smoking

Objective To investigate the expression of a dismtegnn and metalloproteinase-12 (ADAM12) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in human bladder carcinoma,and to explore their correlation with different grades and stages of bladder cancer.Methods Biopsies of 12 normal bladder and 43 bladder tumors were performed.And immunohistochemistry was conducted to detect the expression of ADAM12 and PCNA in the biopsies.Results Positive expression signals of ADAM12 were detected significantly higher inthe bladder cancer biopsies than that in the normal ones (Z =4.879,P ＜ 0.05),and the expression level of ADAM-12 in lower histological grade was significantly higher than that in the moderate and higher histological grades (x2 =22.3685,P ＜ 0.01).Positive expression signals of PCNA were detected significantly higher in the bladder cancer biopsies than that in the normal ones (Z =4.879,P ＜ 0.05)).Those with lower histological grade had a higher expression level of PCNA when compared with the moderate and higher histological grades (x2 =10.665,P =0.0137).The expression of ADAM-12 was positively correlated with PCNA in bladder cancer (r =1.000,P ＜ 0.0001).Conclusion The over expression of ADAM12 and PCNA maybe play an important role in development of the bladder tumors.And ADAM12 may be a promising biomarker of bladder cancer in the clinical behavior.

AIMTo investigate the mechanism through which insulin affect the learning and memory abilities of the Alzheimer's disease-like rats.

METHODSOkadaic acid (OA) was injected into the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus and the insulin was injected into the lateral cerebral ventricle of the rats. The learning and memory abilities of the rats were assessed through Morriswater maze behavioral test, and the expressions of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and GFAP were observed by Westem blotting and immunohistochemistry, respectively.

RESULTSCompared with the control rats, the abilities of learning and memory were lowered significantly (P < 0.01) and the expressions of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors were decreased and the GFAP positive astrocytes were increased greatly in the model rats (P < 0.05). In the rats injected with insulin, it was found that their learning and memory abilities were improved significantly (P < 0.01) and that the expression of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors were increased and GFAP positive astrocytes were decreased obviously (P < 0.05), as compared with the model rats.

CONCLUSIONInsulin is able to enhance the learning and memory abilities of the Alzheimer's disease-like rats, possibly by improving the function of the acetylcholine system and decreasing the astrocytes proliferation in the brain.

Alzheimer Disease ; physiopathology ; Animals ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein ; metabolism ; Insulin ; pharmacology ; Learning ; drug effects ; Male ; Memory ; drug effects ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Receptors, Nicotinic ; metabolism

It is widely accepted that hematopoietic and endothelial cell lineages are initiated from the same precursor cells (named as hemangioblast), although hemangioblast has not been proved. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptor KDR/flk-1 is a prime regulator of endothelial cell proliferation, angiogenesis, vasculogenesis and vascular permeability. It is speculated that VEGF and its receptor KDR/flk-1 may also play an important role in embryonic and postnatal hematopoiesis. But the exact role and mechanism are not well known. Some latest developed cellular and molecular techniques can be used to prove the existence of hemangioblast and to investigate its biologic feature and the effect of VEGF and receptor KDR/flk-1 on its biologic feature.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of Garcinia xanthochymus, a perennial medicinal plant native to Yunnan, China, against HO-induced oxidative damage in rat pheochromacytoma PC12 cells. Preincubation of PC12 cells with fruit EtOAc fraction (fruit-EFr., 12.5-50 µmol·L) of G. xanthochymus for 24 h prior to HO exposure markedly improved cell viability and increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and heme oxygenase-1 [HO-1]), prevented lactate dehydrogenase release and lipid peroxidation malondialdehyde production, attenuated the decrease of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), and scavenged reactive oxygen species (ROS). Fruit-EFr. also reduced BAX and cytochrome C expression and improved BCL-2 expression, thereby decreasing the ratio of BAX to BCL-2. Fruit-EFr. activated the nuclear translocation of NRF2 to increase HO-1 and induced the phosphorylation of AKT. Its cytoprotective effect was abolished by LY294002, a specific inhibitor of PI3K. Taken together, the above findings suggested that fruit-EFr.of G. xanthochymus could enhance cellular antioxidant defense capacity, at least in part, through upregulating HO-1 expression and activating the PI3K/AKT pathway and that it could suppress HO-induced oxidative damage via PI3K/AKT and NRF2/HO-1 signaling pathways.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; metabolism ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Biological Transport ; Cell Survival ; Cytochromes c ; metabolism ; Fruit ; Garcinia ; Heme Oxygenase-1 ; metabolism ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; PC12 Cells ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase ; metabolism ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; Phosphorylation ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Protective Agents ; pharmacology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Signal Transduction ; bcl-2-Associated X Protein ; metabolism