AIMTo explore the causes of the difference in spermatogenic suppression between responders and non-responders in Chinese men treated with levonorgestrel (LNG) implants plus testosterone undecanoate (TU) injectable.

METHODSThe 16 Chinese volunteers treated were divided into two groups in regard to the sperm count during the treatment period, 7 men in the responder group (Group R), including 6 azoospermia and one severe oligozoospermia, and the remaining 9 in the non-responder group (Group N), including 4 oligozoospermia and 5 with sperm counts greater than 20 x 10(6)/mL. The differences in serum profiles of FSH, LH, T, LNG and T/LH ratio were compared between the two groups and the correlation between the seminal fluid parameters and serum reproductive hormones was analyzed.

RESULTSThe serum FSH level was lower in Group R than that in Group N (P<0.05), while the serum LH and LNG levels were higher in Group R than those in Group N (P<0.05). The sperm density (P<0.01, r=0.235), motility(P<0.01, r=0.326) and vitality (P<0.01, r=0.219) showed significantly positive correlation with the serum FSH level.

CONCLUSIONThe blood LNG and T levels, the degree of FSH inhibition and/or the sensitivity of the pituitary-testis axis to exogenous steroids, as well as the individual spermatogenetic potential and the functional status of the Leydig cells may be factors bringing about individual differences in spermatogenic suppression in Chinese men treated with LNG and TU.

Adult ; Contraceptive Agents, Male ; administration & dosage ; Drug Implants ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Humans ; Injections ; Levonorgestrel ; administration & dosage ; pharmacokinetics ; Leydig Cells ; physiology ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Sperm Count ; Spermatogenesis ; drug effects ; Testosterone ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; blood

AIMTo study the relationship between erythrocyte filtration index (EFI) and cholesterol and Na+ -K+ -ATPase activity of erythrocyte membrane in early stage of severe burns.

METHODSThe EFI was measured by means of percolation, the erythrocyte membrane cholesterol level was measured by means of chemically modified electrode, and the membrane Na+ -K+ -ATPase activity by means of detection of Pi.

RESULTSIn early stage of severe burns, the cholesterol level and Na+ -K -ATPase activity of erythrocyte membrane were always higher than those of control group (P < 0.01), but the EFI was lower than that of control group (P < 0.01). The cholesterol level and Na+ -K+ -ATPase activity of the erythrocyte membrane were negative correlation with EFI (r cho= -0.871, r ATPase = -0.801, P < 0.01) nospectively.

CONCLUSIONThe cholesterol level and Na+ -K+ -ATPase activity of erythrocyte membrane play a key role in the change of EFI.

Adult ; Burns ; metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Cholesterol ; chemistry ; Erythrocyte Membrane ; chemistry ; Erythrocytes ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore the expression of pituitary tumor transforming gene (PTTG) in human renal clear cell carcinoma (RCCC) and its significance.

METHODSPTTG protein expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in 87 RCCC and 45 paired normal renal tissues.

RESULTSPTTG was expressed differentially between the normal renal and RCCC tissues. Compared with normal tissues, the primary RCCC tissues showed significantly increased expression of PTTG protein (P<0.001). The positive rate of PTTG protein was positively correlated to the tumor size, clinical stage and Fuhrman grade of RCCC (P=0.009, 0.008 and 0.035, respectively).

CONCLUSIONIncreased PTTG protein expression may be involved in the carcinogenesis and progression of RCCC.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; metabolism ; pathology ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kidney Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Securin

To explore the relationship between the expression of CD133 and pathogenesis of leukemia and MDS, immunocytochemistry method was used to examine the expression of CD133 in bone marrow cells of patients with leukemia and MDS. The results showed that the positive rate of CD133 in 41 acute leukemia patients was 51.2%. The expression of CD133 in AML patients (16/29, 55.2%) was significantly higher than that in control group (2/15, 13.3%). There was no significant difference in CD133 expression between CML and control group. The positive rate of CD133 in 9 patients with MDS was 55.56% (5/9). There was no significant difference between MDS and normal control. The expression of CD133 in all leukemia cells with CD34(+) was higher than that in leukemia cells with CD34(-), and there was significant difference in expression of CD133 between them (P < 0.05). The expression of CD133 had no relationship with the clinical prognostic factors such as sex, age, the percentage of leukemic cells in peripheral blood and in bone marrow, WBC counts, hemoglobin concentration, platelet counts and LDH level. It is concluded that the expression of CD133 in bone marrow cells of patients with AML is higher than that in control group. The expression of CD133 is significantly correlated with the expression of CD34. The high expression of CD133 may be an adverse prognostic factor in acute leukemia.
AC133 Antigen ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antigens, CD ; metabolism ; Antigens, CD34 ; immunology ; metabolism ; Bone Marrow Cells ; immunology ; metabolism ; Child ; Female ; Glycoproteins ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; immunology ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; immunology ; metabolism ; Peptides ; metabolism ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; immunology ; metabolism ; Prognosis ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of adenovirus-mediated PTEN and P27 on the invasion of PC-3 in vitro and angiogenesis, along with their synergy in the treatment of prostate cancer.

METHODSRecombinant adenovirus vectors of the human tumor suppressor genes PTEN and P27 were constructed. The replication-incompetent recombinant adenovirus was packaged and propagated in HEK293 cells. The viral titer was examined by plaque assay and the mRNA and protein expressions of PTEN and P27 in human prostate cancer cell line PC-3 infected with Ad-PTEN and Ad-P27 were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. The invasion of PC-3 cells in vitro was examined by Boyden chamber assay. MTT assay was used to testify the effect of supernatant from PC-3 infected with Ad-PTEN and Ad-P27 on the proliferation of endothelial cells ECV-304 and the CAM test was used to testify the effect of PTEN and P27 on angiogenesis. The difference between the combined therapy group and the single gene therapy group was also examined.

RESULTSThe viral titers of Ad-PTEN and Ad-P27 were 1.8 x 10(7) pfu/ml and 1.2 x 10(9) pfu/ml respectively. Adenovirus infection verified that the mRNA and protein expression of PTEN and P27 were steady in human PC-3 cells. The invasion in vitro of PC-3 cells was significantly inhibited by infection with Ad-PTEN or/and Ad-P27. CAM and MTT assays of ECV-304 confirmed that the supernatant from PC-3 cells infected with Ad-PTEN or/and Ad-P27 could inhibit the angiogenesis effectively. There was a significant difference between the combined therapy group and the single gene therapy group.

CONCLUSIONThe combined gene therapy of Ad-PTEN and Ad-P27 plays a synergistic role in inhibiting the invasiveness of PC-3 cells and angiogenesis.

Adenoviridae ; genetics ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; PTEN Phosphohydrolase ; genetics ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood supply ; pathology ; Transfection

OBJECTIVETo investigate the distribution and the antibiotic susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria in children from Guiyang with lower respiratory infection (LRI).

METHODSThe nasopharyngeal aspirate samples were obtained from 893 hospitalized children with LRI between August 2006 and June 2008. An antibiotic susceptibility test was performed using the VITEK system and the Kirby-Bauer diffuse method after bacteria were identified.

RESULTSFive hundred and forty-three patients (60.8%) were bacteria-positive. A total of 598 strains (30 kinds of bacteria) were obtained from the sputum samples. Of them, 533 strains (89.1%) were gram-negative and 57 were gram-positive (9.8%). Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Kleb-siella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) were common in gram-negative strains. They were susceptive to piperacillin/tazobactam, amikacin, ciprofloxacin, and levofloxacin, especially to imipenem. Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) and Stapthylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were common in gram-positive strains. S. pneumoniae was susceptive to penicillin and cefazolin sodium, but S. aureus was resistant. Both were high susceptive to vancomycin, and resistant to roxithromycin.

CONCLUSIONSGram-negative bacteria are the main pathogens in children from Guiyang with LRI, and E. coli and K. pneumoniae are common. The antibiotic susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria varies with different strains of bacteria. A reasonable selection of antibiotics should be based on the antibiotic susceptibility test.

Adolescent ; Bacteria ; drug effects ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Nasopharynx ; microbiology ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; microbiology

OBJECTIVETo study the effects of MTA1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) on the anchorage-independent growth and anoikis of prostate cancer cell line PC-3.

METHODSAfter transfection of human prostate cancer PC-3 cells by MTA1 siRNA, we detected the expression of the MTA1 gene by real-time PCR and Western blot, the anchorage-independent growth of the cells by clone formation in soft agar, and their anoikis by DNA fragmentation assay and flow cytometry.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, MTA1 siRNA transfection significantly decreased the mRNA and protein levels of MTA1, inhibited the anchorage-independent growth of the PC-3 cells, and induced their anoikis, all in a dose- and time-dependent manner (r = 0.935, P = 0.001; r = 0.901, P = 0.0005; r = 0.916, P = 0.0003).

CONCLUSIONMTA1 siRNA can inhibit the anchorage-independent growth of prostate cancer cells by inducing their anoikis.

Anoikis ; genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Histone Deacetylases ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; genetics ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Repressor Proteins ; genetics ; Transfection ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

This study was purposed to investigate the efficacy of different whole flow lysis reagents for lysis of red blood cells in flow cytometric analysis. The expression of immunocytes was detected by flow cytometry after lysis of red blood cells using commercial reagents (Optilyse C, FACS Lysing Solution) and self-made red blood cell lysis reagents (RBC Lysis Buffer), the detection results were analyzed comparatively. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the percentage of CD3e(+), CD3e(+)CD4(+), CD3e(+)CD8a(+), CD3e(-)CD19(+), CD3e(-)NK1.1(+) and Gr-1(+) cells between 3 different lysis reagent groups. However OptiLyse C solution was suitable to Gr-1(+) cell detection, but did not suit to Foxp3(+) Treg detection. The self-made RBC Lysis Buffer and FACS Lysing Solution were suited to Foxp3(+) Treg detection. It is concluded that the use of self-made RBC Lysis Buffer for flow cytometry can get the lysis efficiency of commercially available lysis solutions when samples are prepared in accordance with standardized procedure. The self-made RBC Lysis Buffer not only can satisfy experimental requirements, but also can reduce the experimental costs.
Animals ; Erythrocyte Count ; Erythrocytes ; immunology ; metabolism ; Flow Cytometry ; instrumentation ; methods ; Immune System ; immunology ; Indicators and Reagents ; analysis ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of laminarin sulphate (LAMS) on the expressions of PTEN and P27kip1 in androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells in vitro, and investigate the mechanism of its anti-tumor action.

METHODSThe inhibitory effects of different concentrations of LAMS (0, 50, 100, 200 microg/ml) on androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells were detected by WST-8 assay. The morphology of PC-3 cells was observed under the fluorescence microscope, and the cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein levels of PTEN and P27kip1 were measured by RT-PCR and Western blot.

RESULTSLAMS inhibited the proliferation of androgen-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and the cell cycle analysis showed that PC-3 cells were arrested in the S phase after treated with different concentrations of LAMS. The rate of apoptosis was increased and many typical apoptotic morphological features were observed under the fluorescence microscope. The PTEN and P27kip1 expressions at mRNA and protein levels were increased in a dose-dependent manner.

CONCLUSIONLAMS can inhibit the proliferation, arrest the cell cycle in the S phase and induce apoptosis of prostate cancer PC-3 cells. The significantly increased expressions of PTEN and P27kip1 may be one of the mechanisms for LAMS inhibiting prostate cancer PC-3 cells.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; PTEN Phosphohydrolase ; genetics ; Polysaccharides ; pharmacology ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood ; genetics ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics

BACKGROUNDMalignant hyperthermia (MH), manifesting as MH crisis during and/or after general anesthesia, is a potentially fatal disorder in response to volatile anesthetics and depolarizing muscle relaxants. Though typical features of MH episode can provide clues for clinical diagnosis, MH susceptibility is confirmed by in vitro caffeine-halothane contracture test (CHCT) in western countries. It is traditionally thought that MH has less incidence and fewer typical characteristics in Chinese population than their western counterparts because of the different genetic background. In this study, we investigated the clinical features of MH in Chinese cases and applied the clinical grading scale and CHCT for diagnosis of MH.

METHODSA cluster of three patients with MH, from January 2005 to December 2007, were included in the study. Common clinical presentations and the results of some lab examinations were reported in detail. The method of the clinical grading scale of diagnosis of MH was applied to estimate the qualitative likelihood of MH and predict MH susceptibility. Muscle fibers of femoral quadriceps of the patients were collected and CHCT was performed to confirm the diagnosis of MH.

RESULTSThe clinical grading scales of diagnosis of the disease for these cases were all ranked grade D6, suggesting almost diagnosed ones. And the results of caffeine test were positive correspondingly, indicating that the patients should be diagnosed as MH susceptibility (MHS) according to diagnostic criteria of the North America MH group, which were already confirmed by clinical presentations and biochemical results.

CONCLUSIONSThese Chinese cases manifest as MH crisis. The clinical grading scale of diagnosis of MH may provide clues for clinical diagnosis. CHCT can also be used in confirming diagnosis of MH in Chinese cases though they have different genetic background from their western counterparts.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Caffeine ; Child ; China ; Female ; Halothane ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Male ; Malignant Hyperthermia ; diagnosis ; Muscle Contraction ; drug effects ; Young Adult