The plasma levels of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF), angiotension II (AII, vaso-pressin (VP) and endogenous digitalis-like factor (EDLF) were determined in 23 patients with mi-tral stenosis before and after percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV). Before PBMV, the plasma levels of ANF and EDLF were elevated in all patients with lower level of All than nor-mal. After the procedure, with a concomitant decrease of left atrial pressure, the plasma ANF de-creased at 15 minutes (from 317. 4?96. 2 to 164. 9?56. 8ng/L , P

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic valu e of ~131I-MIBG adrenomedullary scintigraphy for high blood cat echolamine. Methods 96 cases of high blood catecholamine and 197 cases of other diseases were screened with ~131I-metaiodo benzylguanidine(MIBG) adrenomedullary scintigraphy. Results 56 cases of the total 60 cases of pheochromocytoma and 33 cases of the total 36 cases of adrenomedullary hyperplasia showed positive image. The positiv e rate were 93.3% and 91.7% respectively. 138 cases of primary hypertension, 4 9 cases of adrenal and other organic tumor, 4 cases of pheochromocytoma befor e operation, 10 cases of cured pheochromocytoma after resection and 3 cases of adrenomedullary hyperplasia all showed negative image. The total positive rate for high blood catecholamine was 92.7%, which was much higher than other method s, such as biochemical assay, type B ultrasound, computer tomography and magneti c resonance image. Conclusions ~131I-MIBG w as of great value for the locative and qualitative diagnosis of high blood catec holamine,especially for the silent, ectopic and multiple pheochromocytoma, the m etastatic malignant pheochromocytoma and adrenomedullary hyperplasia. It could be used for the differential diagnosis of high blood catecholamine from primary hypertension and other kinds of tumors.

AIM: To evaluate the method of inducing mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells in vitro to differentiate into cardiomyocytes without using any chemical reagents.METHODS: BRL conditioned medium was used to promote the growth of ES cells and maintain them in an undifferentiated state before the experiment of differentiation. Then a three-step method including ES cell culture in hanging drops and in suspending was used to induce the differentiation of ES cells. RESULTS: Rhythmically contracting cells were observed among differentiated cells, which were proved to be cardiomyocytes with electron microscope and immunocytochemistry. CONCLUSION: A simple and economical method was established to induce mouse ES cells cultured in vitro to differentiate into cardiomyocytes without using any chemical reagents. [

AIM: To study the role of NOS2 in the devel op ment of cardiac dysfunction after rat myocardial infarction by observing effects of S-methylisothiourea (SMT) on left ventricular morphology and haemodynamics. METHODS: An selective NOS2 inhibitor, was used. Administration o f SMT by gavage began 30 min before coronary ligation. Six weeks later, left ventricular morphologic and haemodynamic parameters were o bserved,and NOS2 expression, plasma NO 2-/NO 3- level and myocardial fibr osis were studied. RESULTS: Six weeks after myocardial infarction, NOS2 level in ra t non-infarct cardiac muscle, plasma NO 2-/NO 3- level, CVP and LVEDP were higher than that in controls. Long term administration of SMT decreased plasma NO 2-/NO 3- level [(26.6?6.1) ?mol/L vs (50.1?10.4) ?mol/L, P

AIM: To study the electrophysiological characteristics of ion channels of stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (SCDC) of mouse. METHODS: Embryonic stem cells of D 3 line (ES-D 3) were cultured on the MEF feeder layer with BRL conditioned medium, and fetal mouse heart cells(FMHC)were cultured in vitro. Then ES-D 3 cells were induced to differentiate into many kinds of cells. SCDC were harvested on day 12 after differentiation initiating and identified by electro-microscope and immunocytochemistry. SCDC and FMHC were prepared for the patch-clamp research. Sodium and calcium currents together were elicited and compared between SCDC and FMHC. RESULTS: The current characteristics of sodium and calcium channels of SCDC were very similar to FMHC. CONCLUSION: The functional expression of ion channels occurred during ES-D 3 cells differentiation and the electrophysiological characteristics of sodium and calcium channels of SCDC are very similar to FMHC.

0.05). Conclusion The human body blood coagulation or fibrinolytic system was not activated or inhibited by ETUS under the condition of this study.

BACKGROUND: The studies about cellular cardiomyoplasty (CCM) of bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) are centered on modeling autologous cell transplantation while the study of myocardium transplantation of allogeneic BMSC is seldom reported domestically.OBJECTIVE: To study the hypothesis that the allogeneic BMSC, after transplanted into the myocardial infarction (MI) regions, can survive, further proliferate, differentiate, and its effects on host hearts.DESIGN: A randomized and controlled trial with experimental animals as subjects.SETTING: Laboratory of Internal Cardiology, Affiliated Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology.MATERIALS: Ten Wistar rats of one-month old, body mass of 100-120 g and unconfined sex were used to culture BMSC while eighty female Wister rats of three-month old, body mass of 200-250 g were used for animal models.METHODS: The experiment was completed in the Laboratory of of Internal Cardiology, Affiliated Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology from June to December 2004. ①Eighty rats were used to establish the acute myocardial infarction (AMI) models by ligating the left anterior descending branch of coronary artery, and 45 of them were successful. ② After 4 weeks, the models were divided into 2 groups at random. In the experiment group (n=25), the passaged and uninduced BMSC cultured in vitro were injected into the MI region of the recipients while only medium was injected in the control group (n=20). ③At 4 weeks after implantation,the hemodynamic indexes of recipients' hearts were examined. Then the samples were obtained to detect the survival, differentiation and angiogenesis status of the removal cells.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ①Comparison of hemodynamic indexes in rats of two groups②Results of the implantation cells③Changes of angiogenesis in rats of two groups.RESULTS: Totally 13 rats in the experiment group and 11 in the control group were involved in the result analysis. ①The hemodynamic indexes of rats were significantly improved in the experiment groups compared with the control group [Left ventricle systolic blood pressure (LVSBP): (88.61±5.99),(76.93±4.75) mm Hg, left ventricle end-diastolic pressure(LVEDP): (7.72±1.36),(12.77±2.76) mm Hg, P ＜ 0.05;The maximum changing velocity of LVSBP:(2 365.26±266.31),(2 025.04±230.25) mm Hg/s; The maximum changing velocity of LVDBP:(2 313.26±159.30),(2 140.12±191.03) mm Hg/s]. ②After implanted in the MI region, the allogeneic BMSC passed the acute inflammation period and did not induce the remarkable reject reaction of transplantation. The BMSC in the infarcted region were mainly differentiated into fibroblast. Some cells around the infarcted region were differentiated into endothelial cells, and improved the angiogenesis. ③The number of angiogenesis in and around the transplantation regions was significantly higher in the experiment group than in the control group (P ＜ 0.01).CONCLUSION: The allogeneic BMSC can not form cardiomyocyte in the infarcted region after cell transplantation, and the engendered endothelial cells of blood vessels may promote the angiogenesis after AMI and ameliorate the cardiac function.

Objective To investigate the correlation between neural tube defects (NTDs) and DACT1 gene, and provide the basic data for disease diagnosis and genetic counseling. Methods Blood samples were obtained from 163 NTDs patients and 480 unrelated healthy individuals. Mutation detection of DACT1 gene and DNA direct sequencing was carried out by PCR amplification. Bioinformatics analysis of these mutated loci was performed. Results Six mutations were found in NTDs patients, including 4 missense mutations (p.R45W, p.D142G, p.N356K and p.V702G). But these mutations were not found in 480 healthy individuals. Three mutated amino acid residues (p.45R, p.142D and p.356N) were highly conservative in evolution, and the mutated carriers were female patients, and suffered from anencephaly. Conclusion DACT1 gene mutation may be a risk factor of NTDs in Han population of northern China.

AIM: To investigate the effects of homocysteine (Hcy) on apoptosis and expression of caspases-3 in cultured human vascular smooth muscle cells (HVSMCs). METHODS: HVSMCs were cultured in vitro. The rate of apoptosis in HVSMCs was detected by flow cytometry. The expression of caspases-3 mRNA in HVSMCs was detected by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: The rates of apoptosis in HVSMCs incubated with 500 ?mol/L Hcy for 0 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h were 2.39%?0.47%, 2.45%?0.64%, 7.58%?1.02%, 13.37%?4.71% and 17.69%?3.13%, respectively. The ratio of the absorbance of caspases-3 mRNA/GAPDH was 0.24?0.08, 0.29?0.10, 0.89?0.26, 1.37?0.24 and 1.82?0.53,respectively, suggesting that Hcy induces the apoptosis and expression of caspases-3 mRNA in HVSMCs in a time-dependent manner. The rates of apoptosis in HVSMCs incubated with 0, 100, 200, 500 or 1 000 ?mol/L Hcy for 24 h were 2.68%?0.23%, 2.79%?0.12%, 8.45%?2.41%, 13.37%?4.71% and 23.75%?5.56%, respectively, revealing that Hcy induced the apoptosis in HVSMCs in a concentration-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: Hcy induces the apoptosis in HVSMCs by regulating the expression of caspases-3, which may be one of the mechanisms involved in atherosclerotic effects of Hcy.