Crystallization ; Eosinophils ; enzymology ; Fascioliasis ; pathology ; Granuloma ; pathology ; Humans ; Liver ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Lung ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Lung Diseases, Parasitic ; pathology ; Lysophospholipase ; metabolism ; Paragonimiasis ; pathology

OBJECTIVE: To observe the micromorphological changes of ultrastructure, apoptosis-related proteins expression and tumor cell apoptosis after ablation with the high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), and to explore the mechanisms responsible for the thermal and non-thermal effect.
 METHODS: Forty rabbits with hepatic VX2 tumors were randomly divided into a thermal group (n=20) and a non-thermal group (n=20), and were subjected to HIFU ablation with thermal or non-thermal condition, respectively. Five animals in each group were sacrificed on the 1st, 3rd, 7th or 14th day after the ablation. The changes of ultrastructure, apoptosis-related proteins expression and tumor cell apoptosis were detected.
 RESULTS: The results of transmission electron microscope (TEM) revealed more severe injury on tissue and cells in the non-thermal group than that in the thermal group. The changes of apoptosis-related proteins expression and tumor cell apoptosis in transient zone were significantly different in comparison with that in the ablated area or peripheral area between the two groups. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was at low level on the 1st and 3rd day and elevated gradually on the 7th and 14th day, with no significant difference (all P>0.05). The expression of caspase-3 reached peak on the 3rd day and decreased on the 7th and 14th day. It was significantly higher in the non-thermal group than that in the thermal group on the 3rd and 7th day (all P<0.05). The expression of NF-κB was elevated from the 3rd day and reached peak on the 7th day while decreased on the 14th day. There was no significant difference at every time point between the 2 groups (all P>0.05). The apoptosis index in the non-thermal group and the thermal group on the 3rd and 7th day were (28.60±1.14)% vs (21.80±1.92)% and (21.00±1.58)% vs (14.80±1.48)%, respectively. It was higher in the non-thermal group than that in the thermal group (both P<0.01).
 CONCLUSION Both the thermal and the non-thermal effect of HIFU can induce apoptosis in transient zone, but the latter have a stronger effect.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Neoplasms, Experimental ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Rabbits ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism

OBJECTIVESTo study the feasibility and possibility to diagnose Wilson disease with electronmicroscopical examination of liver biopsies.

METHODSClinical analysis, histological observation and ultrastructural examination were performed on 15 children with Wilson disease.

RESULTSAll 15 subjects had symptoms of hepatic disorders, such as jaundice. Morphological signs of hepatocyte injury in three phase, namely steatosis, mitochondrion changes and cholestasis in bile canaliculi of the early phase, nucleus injury, dilation of endoplasmic reticulum, increase of lysosomes and appearance of residual bodies of the second phase, and massive autophagy and cirrhosis of the late phase were shown. A few inflammatory cells in the liver specimens were observed. Accumulation of copper in lysosomes and autophagosomes was found by energy-dispersion X-ray.

CONCLUSIONThe diagnostic signs for Wilson disease are autophagosomes in hepatocytes, cirrhosis accompanied with a few of inflammatory cells. A certain diagnosis of the disease depends on the finding of copper accumulation in hepatocytes.

Adolescent ; Biopsy, Needle ; Child ; Copper ; metabolism ; Female ; Hepatocytes ; metabolism ; Hepatolenticular Degeneration ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Humans ; Liver ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Male

OBJECTIVETo investigate the morphological changes and regeneration mechanism of sinusoidal endothelial cell.

METHODSSixty male Wistar rats (bought from SLC company limited of Japan) were divided into three groups. Fifty of them belonged to experiment group, five rats belonged to untreated group, and the rest five ones belonged to normal saline treated group. The experiment group was then divided into ten subgroups. All the rats of the experiment group were killed under anaesthesia using aether at 12, 24, 36 hrs, and 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 14 days subsequently after an one-off injection of dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) (50 mg/kg). The liver tissues, bone marrows and peripheral blood of the rats were taken out rapidly. All the tissues received with HE staining, immunohistochemistry staining and double immunofluorescence labelings, and they were observed under a light microscope and electron microscope. The livers, bone marrows and peripheral blood from the rats at 24 hrs to 14 days after an injection of DMN were examined by light microscopic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural methods.

RESULTSSmall focal necrosis of the liver tissues was found at 12 hrs after the DMN injection, and gradually becomes more obvious from the 24 hrs. The most obvious necrosis, with lots of ED-1 (monocyte/phagocyte marker of rats) positive cells infiltration, was observed at 36 hrs. On the 2nd day and 3rd day after injection, the necrotic fragments and red cells were phagocyted by ED-1 positive macrophages. On the 5th day, some of the ED-1-positive cells were transformed from round to spindle in shape. On the 7th day, these cells contacted with residual reticulin fibers and became positive for SE-1, a marker of hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells and Tie-1, an endothelial cell-specific surface receptor, associated with frequent occurrence of ED-1/SE-1 and ED-1/Tie-1 double positive spindle cells. On the 8th day, the histomorphology of liver tissue was similar with that on day 7, except that the range of the lesions had become smaller. On the 10th day, the regeneration of liver tissue increased, filling in the necrosis. On the 14th day, the necrotic tissues were almost replaced by regenerated liver tissues and thin bundles of central-to-central bridging fibrosis. 12 hrs after the DMN injection, bone marrow studies showed an increase in the number of ED-1 positive mononuclear cells, some of which were both BrdU/ED-1 positive. The number of ED-1 positive mononuclear cells reach their highest level at 36 hrs. These cells are morphologically similar to round mononuclear cells in bone marrows and could be found in the peripheral blood from 24 hrs to the 10 days. They reached their highest level in peripheral blood at the same time as in the bone marrow. These cells morphologically resembled ED-1 positive cells in necrotic tissues of the liver.

CONCLUSIONSThese findings suggest that round mononuclear ED-1-positive cells proliferate first in the bone marrow after DMN treatment, reach necrotic areas of livers through circulation, and differentiate to sinusoidal endothelial cells. Namely, hepatic sinusoids in DMN-induced necrotic areas may partly be reorganized possibly by vasculogenesis.

Animals ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury ; pathology ; Dimethylnitrosamine ; Endothelial Cells ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Liver ; blood supply ; metabolism ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Liver Regeneration ; Male ; Necrosis ; chemically induced ; pathology ; Neovascularization, Physiologic ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVE: A novel technology for detection of diatom was discussed. METHODS: Five grams of testing sample were taken and the organics were removed using simple mechanical knead pulp method. The homogenized samples were concentrated by centrifugation, smeared, and then examined under light microscope. RESULTS: Except for a few feather's grains, the vast majority of diatom could be identified easily with clear diatom striations. The organic diatom could also be easily detected by this methodology. CONCLUSION The detection of diatom using knead pulp method is not only simple and inexpensive with a higher successful rate, but also causes nearly no harm to human and environment.
Calcium/metabolism* ; Diatoms/ultrastructure* ; Drowning/diagnosis* ; Forensic Pathology ; Humans ; Kidney ; Liver ; Lung ; Microscopy/methods* ; Specimen Handling/methods* ; Tooth

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of PGC-1alpha in human liver carcinogenesis, and explore the regulatory role of PGC-1alpha in the development of liver cancer.

METHODSThe changes of PGC-1alpha mRNA level in normal human liver tissues and human liver tumors was examined by quantitative RT-PCR. PGC-1alpha mRNA level was interfered by siRNA in human liver cell line L02 in vitro, and their morphological changes were observed by pathology with HE staining. The ultrastructure of cells was observed by electron microscopy. In addition, the gene expression pattern of decreasing PGC-1alpha in L02 cells and liver tumor tissue was compared by human genome 70-mer oligonucleotide microarray analysis.

RESULTSPGC-1alpha expression was weaker in the malignant liver tumors compared with that in normal liver tissues. When PGC-1alpha expression was suppressed in human liver L02 cells, the cells became smaller with enlarged nuclei, and myelin figures were observed in mitochondria by electron microscopy, similar with the ultrastructure of liver cancer cells. Microarray analysis showed that the decrease of PGC-1alpha in L02 cells induced up-regulation of some oncogenes and adhesive genes, and down-regulation of a number of tumor suppressor genes and cell proliferation suppressor genes. The changes of decreasing expression pattern of PGC-1alpha gene in L02 cells were similar to those in human liver cancer tissue.

CONCLUSIONThe results of the present study show that PGC-1alpha is down-regulated in liver cancers and is involved in the malignant transformation in human normal liver cells in vitro, suggesting an important regulatory role of PGC-1alpha in the development of liver cancer.

Adult ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; metabolism ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Liver ; metabolism ; pathology ; Liver Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between mast cell and hepatic fibrosis by histopathological method and semi-quantitative measurement.

METHODSSeventy-two Wistary male rats, the control group and the normal group of each only 16, experimental group of 40 rat liver fibrosis was induced by injection of DMN and was sampled at eight different time points. HE, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry (ABC method) and immunofluorescence were performed. The size of fibrosis and the number of mast cells were counted. The expression of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 was documented and electron microscopic examination was performed.

RESULTSAfter injection of DMN, the fibrosis was the most severe in the 2 week (3.72%) and the first month (3.73%, P = 0.2626), and then gradually diminished, although residual fibrosis was still present at 12 months (1.42%, P = 0.0003). The appearance of mast cells began at 2 weeks (1.73 per 200 power field in average by light microscope) after the injection and reached the peak at 4 months (3.06, P = 0.008). Residual amount of mast cells were present at 12 months (1.04, P = 0.045). However, the degree of fibrosis was not proportional or overlapping with the number of mast cells in this experiment model. Mast cells expressed MMP-2 but not TIMP-2.

CONCLUSIONSIn the DMN-induced rat liver fibrosis model, mast cell may be an integral player in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis and may contribute to the degradation of fibrosis by synthesizing and secreting MMP-2.

Actins ; metabolism ; Animals ; Cell Count ; Dimethylnitrosamine ; Liver Cirrhosis ; chemically induced ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mast Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2 ; metabolism ; Tryptases ; metabolism

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVEIn recent years, incidence and mortality of lymphoma are markedly increasing worldwide. However, the pathogenesis and mechanism of invasion and metastasis for lymphoma are not yet fully clarified. It is mainly due to the lack of ideal animal models, which can precisely simulate the invasion and metastasis of lymphoma in the human body. So, it is very necessary to establish a highly metastatic nude mouse model of human lymphoma. This study developed a liver-metastatic model of primary gastric lymphoma in nude mice by using orthotopic surgical implantation of histologically intact patient specimens into the corresponding organs of the recipient small animals.

METHODSA histologically intact fragment of liver metastasis derived from a surgical specimen of a patient with primary gastric lymphoma was implanted into the submucosa of the stomach in nude mice. Tumorigenicity, invasion, metastasis, morphologic characteristics (via light microscopy, electron microscopy, and immunohistochemistry), karyotype analysis, and DNA content of the orthotopically transplanted tumors were studied.

RESULTSAn orthotopic liver metastatic model of human primary gastric lymphoma in nude mice (termed HGBL-0304) was successfully established. The histopathology of the transplanted tumors showed primary gastric diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. CD19, CD20, CD22, and CD79alpha were positive, but CD3 and CD7 were negative. The serum level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was elevated [(1010.56+/-200.85) U/L]. The number of chromosomes ranged from 75 to 89. The DNA index (DI) was 1.45+/-0.25 (that is, heteroploid). So far, the HGBL-0304 model has been passed on for 45 generations of nude mice. A total of 263 nude mice were used for the transplantation. Both the growth and resuscitation rates of liquid nitrogen cryopreservation of the transplanted tumors were 100%. The transplanted tumors autonomically invasively grew and damaged a whole layer in the stomach of nude mice. The metastasis rates of liver, spleen, lymph node, and peritoneal seeding were 100%, 94.3%, 62.6%, and 43.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONSThe study successfully establishes an orthotopic liver metastatic model of human primary gastric lymphoma in nude mice. The HGBL-0304 model can completely simulate the natural clinical process of primary gastric lymphoma and provides an ideal animal model for the research on the biology of metastasis and antimetastatic experimental therapies of primary gastric lymphoma.

Aged ; Aneuploidy ; Animals ; Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; CD79 Antigens ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; blood ; Liver ; pathology ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; secondary ; ultrastructure ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Splenic Neoplasms ; secondary ; Stomach Neoplasms ; genetics ; metabolism ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo compare morphological differences of three drug-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell subclones (Huh-7/ADM, Huh-7/CBP, Huh-7/MMC) and their parental Huh-7 cell line, to analyze differential microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles in these cells and, finally to screen for the abnormal expressed miRNAs in drug-resistant HCC cells.

METHODSCellular morphology was observed by histology and transmission electron microscopy. MiRNA microarray was used to analyze the differential miRNA expression profiles in these cells (Huh-7, Huh-7/ADM, Huh-7/CBP, Huh-7/MMC) followed by real time quantitative PCR validation.

RESULTSThe drug-resistant cells had more intracytoplasmic organelles and were larger in size along with increased cytological pleomorphism than the parental Huh-7 cells. Compared with the parental Huh-7 cells, 32 simultaneously up-regulated and 22 down-regulated miRNAs were found in three drug-resistant cells. Up-regulation of miR-15a, miR-16, miR-27b, miR-30b, miR-146a, miR-146b-5p, miR-181a, miR-181d and miR-194 was verified by RT-qPCR.

CONCLUSIONDrug-resistant HCC cells have abnormal expressed miRNAs, which may be explored to further investigate the association of miRNA expressions with multidrugs resistance in HCC.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Carboplatin ; pharmacology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; genetics ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Doxorubicin ; pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mitomycin ; pharmacology ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis

BACKGROUNDPortacaval shunt (PCS) prevent hepatotrophic factors from flowing into the liver, but they enter directly the systemic circulation and worsen liver injury. This study was designed to investigate the effects of hepatotrophic factors through the portal vein on the liver in rats with portal hypertension after portacaval shunt.

METHODSIntrahepatic portal hypertension (IHPH) was induced by intragastric administration of carbon tetrachloride, and end-to-side PCS was performed. Eight normal rats served as controls, and eight rats with IHPH served as IHPH model (IHPH group). Another 32 rats with IHPH-PCS were randomly subdivided into 4 groups: normal saline (NS) given to 8 rats, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) 8, insulin (INS) 8, hepatocyte growth factor and insulin (HGF + INS) 8. Hepatotrophic factors were infused into the portal vein through an intravenous catheter. Portal venous pressure (PVP) was measured. The levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were tested biochemically and those of hyaluronic acid (HA) and laminin (LN) were measured by radioimmunoassay. Hepatic fibrosis was assessed histologically and the expression of collagens type I and III were detected immunohistochemically. Ultrastructural change of hepatocytes and the number of mitochondria were observed under an electron microscope. The data were compared between groups and subgroups by Student-Newman-Keuls procedure with SPSS10.0.

RESULTSPVP was significantly higher in the IHPH rats than in the control rats (P < 0.05). The levels of serum ALT, AST, HA, and LN, hepatic fibrosis score, the amount of collagen deposition, collagens type I and III increased more significantly in the IHPH group than in the control rats (P < 0.05). The number of mitochondria decreased more significantly in the IHPH rats than in the control rats (P < 0.05). The levels of serum ALT, AST, HA and LN as well as hepatic fibrosis score, the amount of collagen deposition, and the amount of collagens type I and III in the HGF and HGF + INS rats were significantly lower than those in the NS rats (P < 0.05). The damage to hepatocyte ultrastructure was markedly alleviated and the number of mitochondria was increased more significantly in the HGF and HGF + INS rats than in the NS rats under an electron microscope.

CONCLUSIONSPerfusion of exogenous hepatotrophic factors through the portal vein can alleviate liver injury, minimize the damage to the ultrastructure of hepatocyte, protect liver function, and lessen hepatic fibrosis in rats with portal hypertension after PCS.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Animals ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Extracellular Matrix ; metabolism ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; pharmacology ; Hypertension, Portal ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Insulin ; pharmacology ; Liver ; drug effects ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental ; drug therapy ; Male ; Portacaval Shunt, Surgical ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley