OBJECTIVETo observe the correlation between brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the nerve system of diabetes mellitus (DM) rats and diabetic erectile dysfunction (ED).

METHODSDM rats were induced by injecting streptozotocin and erectile function test was done by injecting apomorphine (APO) at 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and 4 months. Then the brain, lumbosacral spinal cord, thoracic and lumbar sympathetic trunks, penis and prostate were taken from the diabetic and normal rats of the same age. The BDNF positive neurons and nerve fibers were shown by immunohistochemistry or fluorescence immunohistochemistry. The number and the grey density of BDNF positive cells and fibers were detected by image analysis.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the erection frequency of the DM rats decreased at 2 months (P <0. 05) , and significantly at 3 and 4 months (P > 0.01) , and the BDNF positive neurons and nerve fibers in the cerebral cortex, lumbosacral spinal cord, thoracic and lumbar sympathetic trunks, penis and prostate of 1-month DM rats were reduced (P <0. 05). As time went on, BDNF declined progressively.

CONCLUSIONBDNF decreases in the central and peripheral nerve system in the early stage of diabetes mellitus, wich is closely correlated with diabetic ED.

Animals ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; biosynthesis ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; physiopathology ; Erectile Dysfunction ; physiopathology ; Male ; Nerve Tissue ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

We present a case of severe persisting unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia in a Uigur infant boy, eventually diagnosed as Crigler-Najjar syndrome type I. DNA analysis of his blood of the UGT1A1 gene sequence demonstrated that he was homozygous for an insertion mutation causing a change of the coding exons with a frame-shift, resulting in the substitution of 27 abnormal amino acid residues in his hepatic bilirubin uridine diphosphoglucuronyl transferase enzyme. Both of his parents were heterozygous for the same mutation. A novel frame-shifting mutation of the UGT1A1 gene was found, confirming the diagnosis of Crigler-Najjar syndrome type I for this patient.
Crigler-Najjar Syndrome ; diagnosis ; genetics ; Frameshift Mutation ; genetics ; Glucuronosyltransferase ; genetics ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male

OBJECTIVETo clone the coding gene of the stage-specific antigen cC1 from Cysticercus cellulosae and express high levels of soluble cC1 in E.coli.

METHODSThe cC1 gene was amplified from Cysticercus cellulosae by RT-PCR and cloned into pMD18-T vector, followed by subcloning into the prokaryotic expression plasmid pET28a. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3) and the expression conditions were optimized. The expressed product was purified by Ni(+)-affinity chromatography, analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and identified with SDS-PAGE and Western blotting.

RESULTSThe fragment length of the amplification product by RT-PCR was 1056 bp. Comparison of the amplified gene sequence with the cC1 gene in Genbank identified a samesense point mutation at 423 position in the gene cloned into the expression plasmids. After a 6-h induction with 0.05 mmol/L IPTG at 37 degrees celsius;, the expression of the 40 kd soluble fusion protein exceeded 60% of the total bacterial protein, and the fusion protein was recognized by Cysticercus-infected human sera. The purity of the fusion protein was about 94% after purification by affinity chromatography.

CONCLUSIONThe stage-specific antigen cC1 from Cysticercus cellulosae has been successfully cloned and the soluble protein efficiently expressed in E.coli, which provides the basis for its further study and application.

Animals ; Antigens, Helminth ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; immunology ; Cloning, Molecular ; Cysticercus ; immunology ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; immunology ; Solubility ; Swine ; Taenia solium ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effects of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and memantine on the long-term prognosis in neonatal rats with ischemia-induced periventricular leukomalacia (PVL).

METHODSThirty-two 5-day-old neonatal rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham-operated, PVL, GDNF-treated and memantine-treated. PVL was induced by right carotid artery ligation and hypoxia in the PVL, GDNF-treated and memantine-treated groups. GDNF (100 μg/kg) or memantine (20 mg/kg) was injected in the two treatment groups immediately after PVL inducement. The weight of the rats was measured immediately before and after hypoxia ischemia (HI). Both of Morris water maze test and Rivlin inclined plane test were performed at 26 days old (21 days after HI). The values of the escape latency (EL) and swimming distance, and the maximum inclined plane degree which the rats could stand at least 5 seconds were compared among the four groups.

RESULTSThe lower weight, the prolonged mean values of EL and swimming distance and the reduced maximum inclined plane degree were observed in the PVL group compared to those in the sham-operated, GDNF-treated and memantine-treated groups. There were no significant differences in the weight, the values of EI and swimming distance and the maximum inclined plane degree between the two treatment groups and the sham-operated group.

CONCLUSIONSThe administration of either GDNF or memantine can markedly increase the abilities of spatial discrimination,learning and memory, and motor coordination, promote weight gain, and improve long-term prognosis in rats with PVL.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Body Weight ; Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists ; therapeutic use ; Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Leukomalacia, Periventricular ; drug therapy ; psychology ; Maze Learning ; drug effects ; Memantine ; therapeutic use ; Motor Activity ; drug effects ; Rats

Aged ; Cell Differentiation ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neurosecretory Systems ; pathology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology

China ; Humans ; Maximum Allowable Concentration ; Occupational Exposure ; prevention & control

Objective To investigate the effect of continual care on postoperative medication compliance of patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) after vertebroplasty.Methods A retrospective case control study was performed to analyze the clinical data of 150 patients with OVCF who underwent vertebroplasty in Guizhou People's Hospital from January 2016 to May 2017.There were 38 males and 112 females,aged 47-88 years,with an average of 67.5 years.Seventy-five patients were given continual care such as telephone follow-up and home visit (continual care group).Seventy-five patients were given routine health education (routine care group) when they were discharged from hospital.Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry dysfunction index (ODI) before operation,1 day,1,3,6 and 12 months after operation,as well as medication compliance and vertebral re-fracture at 1,3,6 and 12 months after operation were compared between the two groups.Results The preoperative VAS of the routine care group was 6 (6-7),1 (0-1),1 (1-3),2 (1-3) and 3 (2-5) points at 1 day and 1,3,6 and 12 months after operation,respectively.The preoperative ODI was 21 (18-27),0 (0-0),2 (1-4),5 (3-7),7 (5-10),10 (7-14) points at 1 day,1,3,6 and 12 months after operation.In the continual care group,VAS was 7 (6-7) points before operation,0 (0-1),1 (0-1),1 (0-2) and 2 (1-3) points at 1 day,1,3,6 and 12 months after operation,respectively.ODI of the continual care group was 18 (22-28) points before operation,0 (0-1),2 (0-4),4 (1-5),4 (3-6) and 6 (4-9) at 1 day,1,3,6 and 12 months after operation.The VAS and ODI of the two groups were lower than those before operation,and the scores of the continual care group were lower than those of the routine care group at 1,3,6 and 12 months after operation (P ＜ 0.05).The medication compliance rates of continual care group were 93％,89％,91％ and 84％ at 1,3,6 and 12 months after operation,while those of routine care group were 44％,40％,47％ and 40％ respectively (P ＜0.05).The incidence of vertebral re-fracture was 1％,1％,3％ and 3％ in continual care group and 3％,5％,5％ and 7％ in routine care group at 1,3,6 and 12 months after operation respectively (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Continual care can improve the medication compliance of OVCF patients after treatment with vertebroplasty,relieve pain,improve the quality of life,and reduce the incidence of vertebral re-fracture,which is worthy of clinical promotion.

OBJECTIVETo better understand the mechanisms of the fetal hematopoiesis turn over from primitive to definitive hematopoiesis through the expression level of c-kit(+) and sca-1(+), and major characters of gene expression profile of these cells.

METHODSc-kit and sca-1 expression level were monitored with fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) of the mononuclear cells from mouse yolk sac and fetal liver, while gene expression profile was carried out with EST sequencing strategy.

RESULTSThe Sca-1(+) cells were increased while the c-kit(+) cells decreased with the embryonic development. Through profiling the functionally identified known genes, most of the highly expressed were globin genes, especially of embryonic types.

CONCLUSIONThe erythropoiesis played a key role in early fetal hematopoiesis in mammalian.

Animals ; Antigens, Ly ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; genetics ; Flow Cytometry ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ; Liver ; cytology ; embryology ; metabolism ; Membrane Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Time Factors ; Yolk Sac ; cytology ; embryology ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDGlucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78), an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone, plays a critical role in chemotherapy resistance in a variety of cancers. In this study, we investigated the up-regulation of GRP78 induced by A23187 and its association with the chemotherapeutical sensibility to cisplatin in human lung cancer cell line SPCA1.

METHODSSPCA1 cells were pretreated with A23187 at different concentrations. The expression of GRP78 at the mRNA level was analyzed by RT-PCR; the expression of GRP78 at the protein level was determined by Western blotting and immunofluorescence assay. Cell survival was determined by MTT assay. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry.

RESULTSThe expression of GRP78 at both the mRNA and protein levels was obviously induced by A23187 in SPCA1 cells, with an elevation of GRP78 by 2.1-fold at the mRNA level and by 3.8-fold at the protein level compared to the control. There was a dose-dependent response. Survival curve analysis demonstrated that A23187 induction caused a significant reduction of survival for the cells subjected to cisplatin treatment (P < 0.05). After treatment by cisplatin, the percentage of apoptotic cells in the A23187 pretreated group increased about three fold compared with the control group ((27.53 ± 4.32)% vs. (9.25 ± 3.64)%, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSA23187 treatment was fairly effective for the induction of GRP78 in SPCA1 cells at both the mRNA and protein levels. To a certain extent, GRP78 up-regulation by A23187 was associated with the enhancement of drug sensitivity to cisplatin in human lung cancer cell line SPCA1.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Blotting, Western ; Calcimycin ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cisplatin ; pharmacology ; Flow Cytometry ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVETo provide some new evidences for the identification of medicinal materials of Curcuma.

METHODMicroscopic observation was made to characterize the rhizomes of Curcuma.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONThere were no obvious histological and morphological differences among the rhizomes of Curcuma. The distribution of oil cells and vascular bundles as well as the number and diameter of xylem vessels were considered to be the distinguishing features of their rhizomes.

China ; Curcuma ; anatomy & histology ; classification ; cytology ; Pharmacognosy ; Plants, Medicinal ; anatomy & histology ; classification ; cytology ; Rhizome ; anatomy & histology ; cytology