Objective To evaluate the role of sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway in spinal neurons in morphine tolerance (MT) in mice.Methods Pathogen-free healthy female Kunming mice,weighing 20-25 g,aged 8-10 weeks,were used in the study.MT was induced with morphine 10 mg/kg injected subcutaneously twice a day for 7 consecutive days.The experiment was performed in two parts.Experiment Ⅰ Forty-eight mice were randomly assigned into 2 groups:control group (group C,n =8) and MT group (group M,n=40).The thermal pain threshold (TPT) was measured at 1 day before morphine injection and 1,3,5,7 and 14 days after the end of injection.Eight mice in each group were sacrificed at 2 h after measurement of TPT at each time point after the end of injection in group M or at 2 h after the last measurement of TPT in group C,and the lumbar segment (L4-6) of the spinal cord was removed.Experiment Ⅱ Forty-eight mice were randomly assigned into 6 groups (n=8 each):SHH inhibitor cyclopamine plus MT group (group CP+M),cyclopamine solvent plus MT group (group D1 +M),SHH agonist SAG plus MT group (group SAG+M),SAG solvent plus MT group (group D2+M),MT plus cyclopamine group (group M+CP) and morphine plus cyelopamine solvent group (group M+D1).At 15 min before morphine injection,cyclopamine 10 mg/kg was injected subcutaneously in group CP+M,and SAG 5 mg/kg was injected subcutaneously in group SAG+M.Cyclopamine 10 mg/kg was injected subcutaneously once a day during the 1-3 days after the end of morphine injection in group M+CP.The TPT was measured before injection of morphine,at 30 min after the first injection of morphine every day and at 1-3 days after the end of morphine injection.The animals were sacrificed at 2 h after the last measurement of TPT,and the lumbar segment (L4-6) of the spinal cord was removed for determination of the expression of SHH signaling pathway-related proteins SHH,ptch1,smo,gli1 and gli3 using Western blot.Results Experiment Ⅰ Compared with group C,the TPT was significantly decreased at 1 and 3 days after the end of morphine injection (P＜0.05),no significant change was found in TPT at 5-14 days after the end of morphine injection (P＞0.05),and the expression of SHH,smo and glil at 1-5 days after the end of morphine injection,of ptchl at 1 and 3 days after the end of morphine injection and of gli3 at 7 days after the end of morphine injection was up-regulated in group M (P＜0.05).Experiment Ⅱ Compared with group D1+M,the TPT was significantly increased,the expression of SHH,ptchl,smo and glil was down-regulated,and gli3 expression was up-regulated in group C P+M (P＜0.05).Compared with group D2+M,the TPT was significantly decreased,the expression of SHH,ptch1,smo and glil was up-regulated,and gli3 expression was down-regulated in group SAG+M (P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the parameters mentioned above between group M+CP and group M+D1 (P＞0.05).The TPT was significantly lower on 3rd-7th days after beginning of morphine injection and 1-3 days after the end of morphine injection than at 30 min after the first injection of morphine in group CP+M (P＜0.05).Conclusion The mechanism underlying the development of MT is partially related to activation of SHH signaling pathway in spinal neurons of mice,however,the maintenance mechanism has no marked relationship with it.

This study is to investigate the effects of cisplatin combined with heparanase inhibitor OGT2115 on proliferation, invasion and migration of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells CNE-2 and to provide a new target for the treatment of metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. MTT assay was used to detect the cell viability of CNE-2 after exposure to different concentrations of DDP (2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 micromol x L(-1)), different concentrations of OGT2115 (0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2 and 6.4 micromol x L(-1)), and DDP combined with OGT2115. Transwell assay was applied to analyze the effects of drugs on invasion and migration of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Wound healing assay was performed to detect cell migration and heparanase activity was analyzed by ELISA. MTT results showed that DDP can inhibit the proliferation of CNE-2 cells in a time and concentration-dependent manner, with an IC50 of 24.03 micromol x L(-1) at 24 h (P < 0.05), low concentration of DDP has almost no inhibitory effect on cell invasion and migration. DDP combined with OGT2115 can significantly inhibit cell invasion and migration. Inhibition of heparanase can significantly enhance anti-invasion and anti-proliferation of DDP.

This study was aimed to analyze the bioinformatics of proteomics of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) intervened by active principle region of Yang-Xin Tong-Mai Formula (apr-YTF). The latest versions of bioinformatics tools including DAVID (http://david.abcc.ncifcrf.gov/) and GO (http://www.geneontology.org/) were combined to assign a precise function to rat bone marrow MSCs intervened by apr-YTF. KEGG and VISANT were assigned with a precise function to rat bone marrow MSCs intervened by apr-YTF. The results showed that a total of 102 biological processes were mainly involved, with 35 cellular components and 6 molecular functions. These proteins interacted in 3 signal transduction pathways. It was concluded that the following proteins and signal transduction pathways played an important role in the process of apr-YTF inducing BMSCs differentiation into cardiomyocytes. Presenilin-1 and Presenilin-2 were in the Notch signaling pathway. And syntaxin-4 protein was in soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive fusion protein attachment protein (SNARE). The apr-YTF played a role on MSCs from multiple sites, with multiple links through different biological processes. The bioinformatics of proteomics can predict action mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) from the holism concept. The validation in combination with molecularbiology was a good way for TCM modernization.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of small interfering RNA-mediated glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) knockdown on the chemosensitivity of breast cancer cells to cisplatin.

METHODSHuman breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 was exposed to different doses of cisplatin (0, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 µmol/L), and the changes in cell viability were detected using MTT assay. PI/Annexin V staining was used to observe the apoptosis of the cells in response to transfection with a small interfering RNA targeting GRP78 (pSH1Si-GRP78). Western blotting was employed to detect GRP78 expression in pSH1Si- GRP78-transfected cells after exposure to 8 µmol/L cisplatin for 24, 48 and 72 h.

RESULTSExposure of the cells to 8 µmol/L cisplatin for 24, 48 and 72 h resulted in a cell survival rate of 83.13%, 54.22% and 35.79%, respectively, but the cell apoptosis rate was only 10.8% at 24 h. Transfection of MDA-MB-231 cells with pSH1Si-GRP78 caused a cell apoptosis rate of 24.6%, which increased to 48.9% in cells with both pSH1Si-GRP78 transfection and cisplatin exposure. Cisplatin exposure caused an initial up-regulation followed then by a down-regulation of GRP78 expression in MDA-MB-231 cells, while pSH1Si-GRP78 transfection produced an obvious down-regulation of GRP78 expression.

CONCLUSIONSInhibition of GRP78 expression increases the apoptosis and enhance cisplatin chemosensitivity of breast cancer cells in vitro, suggesting the value of GRP78 as a potential therapeutic target in the clinical treatment of breast cancer.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; Cisplatin ; pharmacology ; Female ; Gene Knockdown Techniques ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; metabolism ; Humans ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) combined with paclitaxel (PTX) on the invasiveness and migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and explore the molecular mechanisms.

METHODSMTT assay was used to detect the growth inhibition induced by LMWH and PTX in CNE1 and CNE2 cells. Wound healing assay and Transwell migration assay were employed to assess the effects of the drugs on the cell migration, and Transwell invasion assay was used to evaluate the cell invasiveness. The cellular expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) were analyzed by Western blotting. ELISA was used to determine the expression of heparanase (HPA) in the culture medium of the cells.

RESULTSMTT assay showed an obvious suppression of CNE1 and CNE2 cell proliferation in response to LMWH and PTX treatments. Treatment with 200 U·ml LMWH combined with 0.1 µmol·L PTX for 24 h resulted in the inhibition rates of migration of 66.70% and 70.53% in CNE1 and CNE2 cells, respectively significantly higher than the rates in cells with PTX treatment alone. The combined treatment with LMWH and PTX for 24 h also caused a significantly higher inhibition rate of cell invasion than LMWH and PTX alone. LMWH enhanced the down-regulation of MMP-9 and HPA induced by PTX.

CONCLUSIONLMWH can enhance the inhibitory effect of PTX on the migration and invasion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, the mechanism of which may involve the down-regulation of MMP-9 and HPA expressions.

Carcinoma ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Glucuronidase ; metabolism ; Heparin Lyase ; metabolism ; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; metabolism ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; pathology ; Paclitaxel ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) in enhancing the sensitivity of oral cancer cells to tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-induced apoptosis.

METHODSThe oral cancer cell line KB was incubated in the presence of different concentrations (0, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5, and 10 mmol/L) of 2-DG with or without TRAIL (200 ng/ml). The cell viability was measured using MTT assay and cell apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry with propidium iodide (PI) staining. KB cells treated with 5 mmol/L 2-DG with or without TRAIL for 0, 6, 16, or 24 h were examined with Western blotting for protein expressions of death receptor 5 (DR5) and caspase-3.

RESULTSTreatment of the cells with 5 mmol/L 2-DG for 24, 48 and 72 h resulted in a cell viability of 25.25%, 69.06%, and 59.19%, respectively. Combined treatment with 5 mmol/L 2-DG with TRAIL for 24 significantly enhanced the cell apoptotic rate (72.5%) as compared to the rate induced by TRAIL alone (45.3%) and by 2-DG (15.9%) alone. 2-DG treatment markedly up-regulated DR5 and caspase-3 expression and enhanced the inhibitory effect of TRAIL on cell colony formation.

CONCLUSION2-DG sensitizes oral cancer cells to TRAIL- induced apoptosis by up-regulating DR5 and caspase-3 expressions.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Deoxyglucose ; pharmacology ; Drug Synergism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Receptors, TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand ; metabolism ; TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand ; pharmacology

The effects of black rice anthocyanidins (BRACs) on retinal damage induced by photochemical stress are not well known. In the present study, Sprague-Dawley rats were fed AIN-93M for 1 week, after which 80 rats were randomly divided into two groups and treated with (n = 40) or without BRACs (n = 40) for 15 days, respectively. After treatment, both groups were exposed to fluorescent light (3,000 +/- 200 lux; 25degrees C), and the protective effect of dietary BRACs were evaluated afterwards. Our results showed that dietary BRACs effectively prevented retinal photochemical damage and inhibited the retinal cells apoptosis induced by fluorescent light (p < 0.05). Moreover, dietary BRACs inhibited expression of AP-1 (c-fos/c-jun subunits), up-regulated NF-kappaB (p65) expression and phosphorylation of IkappaB-alpha, and decreased Caspase-1 expression (p < 0.05). These results suggest that BRACs improve retinal damage produced by photochemical stress in rats via AP-1/NF-kappaB/Caspase-1 apoptotic mechanisms.
Animal Feed/analysis ; Animals ; Anthocyanins/administration & dosage/*pharmacology ; Antioxidants/administration & dosage/*physiology ; Blotting, Western ; Caspase 1/*genetics/metabolism ; Diet ; Dietary Supplements/analysis ; I-kappa B Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; NF-kappa B/*genetics/metabolism ; Neoplasm Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Nucleocytoplasmic Transport Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Oryza sativa/chemistry ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos/genetics/metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun/genetics/metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Retinal Diseases/etiology/*prevention & control ; Signal Transduction/*drug effects/radiation effects ; Transcription Factor AP-1/*genetics/metabolism

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of small interfering RNA-mediated receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIP1) knockdown on the sensitivity of human oral squamous carcinoma cells to to oxaliplatin (L-OHP)-induced apoptosis and explore a new target for clinical treatment of oral squamous carcinoma.

METHODSThe viability of human oral squamous carcinoma cell line KB exposed to different concentrations (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 µmol/L) of L-OHP were detected by MTT assay. PI/Annexin V staining was used to observe cell apoptosis in naive KB cells, cell and transfected with pSH1Si-RIP1 or with the empty plasmid. Western blotting was used to detect RIP1 expression in KB cells exposed to L-OHP and in cells transfected with pSH1Si-RIP1.

RESULTSExposure to L-OHP (1µmol/L) for 24, 48, 72 h resulted in KB cell survival rates of 67.66%, 55.17%, and 41.34%, respectively, but the cell apoptosis rate was only 9.6% following a 24-h exposure. KB cells transfected with pSH1Si-RIP1 showed an apoptotic rate of 9.4%, which increased to 29.1% following L-OHP exposure. RIP1 expression was first up-regulated and then down-regulated in KB cells treated with L-OHP, and was significantly reduced after cell transfection with pSH1Si-RIP1.

CONCLUSIONSuppression of RIP1 expression increases the apoptotic rate of human oral squamous carcinoma cells, suggesting the potential of RIP1 as a new candidate target for clinical treatment of oral squamous carcinoma.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; genetics ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Mouth Neoplasms ; genetics ; pathology ; Organoplatinum Compounds ; pharmacology ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; Receptor-Interacting Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics ; Transfection

Objective To investigate the effects of inverse ratio ventilation on pulmonary function and ce-rebral oxygen saturation in elderly patients with single lung ventilation.Methods Sixty patients scheduled for elec-tive radical resection of esophageal cancer were divided into 2 groups(n=30 for each group)using a random num-ber table:the experiment group(group A)and the control group(group B). During the two lung ventilation,the ventilator parameters were set as tidal volume(VT)7 mL/kg,inspiratory to expiratory ratio 1:2. During one lung ventilation,the I:E ratio was 1.5:1 in the group A and 1:2 in the group B. At 15 min after two lung ventilation (T1),20 min after one lung ventilation(T2),60 min after one lung ventilation(T3)and 15 min after restarting two-lung ventilation(T4),the blood gas analysis was measured and recorded for the hemodynamics,respiratory me-chanics index and cerebral oxygen saturation respectively. Results Compared with the B group,the Ppeak and VD/VT at T2~T4in the group A were lower while PaO2,Pmean and Cdyn were higher(P<0.05).During one lung ventilation,the incidence of rSO2< 50% or rSO2decreased more than 20% in the group A was lower than that in the group B(P<0.05).The PaO2,Cdyn and rSO2of the two groups at T2~T4were significantly lower and Ppeak, Pmean,PaCO2,VD/VT were significantly higher than the baseline(T1)(P < 0.05). Conclusion During one-lung ventilation,prolonged inspiratory time can improve pulmonary function and lung compliance without increas-ing peak airway pressure,reduce the decline of rSO2 at the same time.

Drug delivery with customized combinations of drugs, controllable drug dosage, and on-demand release kinetics is critical for personalized medicine. In this study, inspired by successive opening of layered structures and compartmentalized structures in plants, we designed a multiple compartmentalized capsular structure for controlled drug delivery. The structure was designed as a series of compartments, defined by the gradient thickness of their external walls and internal divisions. Based on the careful choice and optimization of bioinks composed of gelatin, starch, and alginate, the capsular structures were successfully manufactured by fused deposition modeling three-dimensional (3D) printing. The capsules showed fusion and firm contact between printed layers, forming complete structures without significant defects on the external walls and internal joints. Internal cavities with different volumes were achieved for different drug loading as designed. In vitro swelling demonstrated a successive dissolving and opening of external walls of different capsule compartments, allowing successive drug pulses from the capsules, resulting in the sustained release for about 410 min. The drug release was significantly prolonged compared to a single burst release from a traditional capsular design. The bioinspired design and manufacture of multiple compartmentalized capsules enable customized drug release in a controllable fashion with combinations of different drugs, drug doses, and release kinetics, and have potential for use in personalized medicine.