Objective To study the expression of PI3K and MMP-7 in esophageal carcinoma and the rela-tionship between the expression of PI3K and MMP-7 and carcinogenesis and progression of esophageal carcinoma. Methods PI3K and MMP-7 expression were detected in 24 normal esophageal mucosa,94 primary tumor tissues with SP immunohistochemistal method. Results There were significant differences of PI3K and MMP-7 expressions between esophageal carcinoma and normal mucesa epithelium ( all P < 0.01 ) [71.28% (67/94) vs 4.17% ( 1/24 ) and 52.13% (49/94) vs 0% (0/24)]. There were significant correlations between PI3K expression and the degrees of differentiation,invasive depth,clinical staging and the metastasis of lymph node (all P <0.01 ). The positive ex-pression rate of MMP-7 had the relationship with metastasis of lymph node (P < 0.05 ), the degrees of differentiation ( P < 0.05 ) invasive depth ( P < 0.01 ), and clinical staging( P < 0.05 ) . There was a positive relationship between PI3K and MMP-7 expression in this study (r = 0. 232 ,P = 0.025). Conlusions PBK and MMP-7 play an impor-tant roles in carcinogenesis and progression of esophageal carcinoma and can be used as valuable biomarkers to eval-uate biological characteristics in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

A 2,4 -dichlorophenol degrading Pseudomonas strain GI241-1 was isolated from a soil sample. The dienelactone hydrolase gene, designated as dcpD which encodes dienelactone hydrolase involved in transforming cis-2-chloro-dienelactone into 2-chloromaleylacetic acid, was cloned from this bacterium strain. The gene cloning strategy was to construct genomic library after location of its neighbouring gene by Southem blot and to screen the aim transformant by dot blotting. Sequencing results showed that length of dcpD is 702bp. The sequence of dcpD and the deduced amino acid are different from the relative sequences registered in the GenBank.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the related factors and pathogens of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) after heart surgery.

METHODSVAP was diagnosed in 105 patients out of 1688 cases (6.2%) who underwent heart surgery in our department between January 2004 and January 2011. Clinical data, pathogens and treatments were analyzed.

RESULTSIncidence of VAP was 6.2% (105/1688), and 53.0% (105/198) in patients who required more than 48 hours of mechanical ventilation. One hundred and ninety-eight pathogen strains were isolated by bacterial culture, in which Gram negative bacteria accounted for 69.2% (137/198), Gram positive bacteria 27.8% (55/198), and fungi for 3.0% (6/198). Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were the main pathogens of VAP. The independent risk factors for VAP were: age > 70 years, emergent surgery, perioperative transfusions, reintubation and days of mechanical ventilation (all P < 0.01). Median length of stay in the ICU for patients who developed VAP or not was (24.7 ± 4.5) days versus (3.2 ± 1.5) days, respectively (P < 0.05) and in-hospital mortality was 25.7% (27/105) versus 2.9% (46/1583) respectively (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPatients undergoing heart surgery have a high frequency of developing VAP, especially in patients that require more than 48 hours of mechanical ventilation. VAP is associated with high in-hospital mortality. Age > 70 years, emergent surgery, perioperative transfusions, reintubation and prolonged mechanical ventilation use are independent risk factors for VAP in patients following cardiac surgery. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus are the main pathogens of VAP.

Acinetobacter baumannii ; Adult ; Aged ; Cardiac Surgical Procedures ; adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pneumonia, Bacterial ; microbiology ; Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated ; microbiology ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

2,4-Dichlorophenol is toxic and biorefratory organic pollutant. A 2,4-dichlorophenol degrading bacterial strain GT241-1, identified as Pseudomonas sp., was isolated from soil samples which was collected from drainage area of several 2,4-dichlorophenol producing factories. Strain GT241-1 had strong 2,4-dichlorophenol degrading ability, it could decompose 91% 2, 4-dichlorophenol of 90 mg/L within 48 hours at 25 - 30 degrees C, and could utilize 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), benzoate and catechol as sole carbon and energy source. Southern blot showed that 2,4-dichlorophenol hydroxylase gene (dcpA) of strain GT241-1 locates on the about 10kb EcoR I/Xba I fragment. This fragment was recovered, linked to the vecter pUC19 and transformed into the E. coli DH5alpha. A aim transformant, Z539, was obtained by dot blotting from about 1200 transformants. PCR and the sequencing results shew that the whole dcpA gene is contained within the 10kb EcoR I /Xba I fragment of pZ539. This fragment was shortened to about 2.4kb by HindmIII. The shorted fragment was subcloned to vecter pRSET-B to get a transformant BS1-12. The subcloned fragment was sequenced. Sequencing results showed that the whole length of the subcloned fragment containing dcpA is 2389bp and the nucleotide span of coding region is from number 276 to number 2072 (1797 bp), with ATG and TAA as start and stop codon respectively. The sequence analysis of dcpA and the deduced amino acid encoded by dcpA showed that they are different from the relative sequences registered in the GenBank. The subcloned fragment carry the promoter of dcpA, this can deduce from the fact that the upflow length of dcpA coding region is 275bp, and further confirmed by the 2,4-dichlorophenol hydroxylase activity measurement results. The 2,4-dichlorophenol hydroxylase activity of transformant Z539 and BS1-12 were detected, the results showed these transformants have 2,4-dichlorophenol hydroxylase activity. By comparison, the activity of these transformants were lower than that of the strain GT241-1.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; Chlorophenols ; metabolism ; Cloning, Molecular ; Environmental Pollutants ; metabolism ; Mixed Function Oxygenases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Pseudomonas ; enzymology ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Soil Microbiology

Objective To evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative neutrophil-to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in invasive breast carcinomas of no special type.Methods we retrospectively analyzed the clinical and pathological data of all breast cancer patients at Shanghai Huangpu District Cental Hospital from Jan.2012 to Dec.2012.The optimal cutoff value was obtained by ROC.The difference among variables was calculated by chi-square test.DFS and OS were estimated using Kaplan-Meier method.Cox analysis was performed to analyze clinical parameters for their prognostic relevance.Results A total of 493 were eligible.The optimal cutoff value of NLR was 2.057.The sensitivity was 0.767 and specifity was 0.327 at the optimal cutoff point.Univariate analysis showed that patients with NLR higher than 2.057 had significantly lower DFS (P=-0.001) than patients with NLR equal or lower than 2.057,while the overall survival rate was not statistically different (P=0.131).The Cox proportional multivariate hazard model revealed that higher NLR was independently related with poor DFS with hazard ratio 5.649(95％ confidence interval 3.128-10.201,P=0.002).Conclusions Preoperative NLR is an independent predictor of DFS in breast cancer patients.Further validation and a feasibility study are required before it can be considered for clinical use.

Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of oral fosfomycin trometamal in patients with lower urinary tract infections ( UTIs) caused by multi drug resistant ( MDR) bacteria in the clinical setting in China.Methods Multicenter study was conducted from January 2011 to December 2011 in 12 hospitals in China.Three hundred and fifty-six patients with non-fever lower UTls were treated by fosfomycin trometamal 3 g once daily.Three hundred and fifty cases with complete data were further evaluated .One hundred and twenty ( 34.3%) were male and 230 ( 65.7%) were female.The average age was ( 49.9 ± 16.6) years.Depending of the results of urine culture at the first visit ,142 patients with E.coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, proteus, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and entercocous were analyzed.The susceptibility of MDR bacteria to fosfomycin trometamol were calculated . The clinical efficacy , bacteriological efficacy of fosfomycin trometamol to these patients was evaluated .Results For the gram-negative bacteria detected by culture , among the E.coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and proteus, 50%(52/104) were Extended-Spectrum β-lactamases producing organisms . For the gram-positive bacteria ( n =38 ) detected by culture, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus accounts for 55%(11/20) of all the Staphylococcus and the other gram-positive bacteria were Enterococcus ( n=18 ) .Higher susceptibility rates to fosfomycin trometamol were observed among MDR bacteria (85.7%) and the clinical effective rate and bacteriological effective rate of fosfomycin trometamol were 96.4%( 53/55 ) and 87.5%( 42/48 ) , respectively .The incidence of drug-related adverse events (AEs) was 5.6%(20/356).The most common AE was diarrhea. No drug-related serious adverse events were found .Conclusions The distributions of uropathogens in China are complicated. The detection rate of MDR uropathogens is high . The dosing regimen of fosfomycin trometamal 3 g once daily is effective and tolerable for the patients with lower UTIs caused by MDR bacteria . It may represent good options for the empiric therapy for the patients with lower UTIs .

To investigate the cell-killing effect and its possible mechanism of rClone30-hDR5 in combination with TRAIL on human hepatic carcinoma (HCC) cell line, first of all, recombinant plasmid pee12.4-hDR5 was introduced into HepG2 cells by liposome transfection. After five rounds of screening by flow cytometry, HepG2 cells expressing high levels of DR5 on cell surface were isolated. The cytotoxicity of TRAIL to selected cells was higher than that of TRAIL to HepG2 cells by MTT method (P < 0.01). The result suggested that the cloned hDR5 gene had biological activity. MTT assay showed that, rClone30- hDR5 in combination with TRAIL more efficiently inhibited the tumor growth of HepG2 cells compared to rClone30-hDR5 or TRAIL in vitro. The results of Annexin V-FITC/PI staining and Quantitative Real-time PCR indicated that rClone30-hDR5 in combination with TRAIL significantly increased the mRNA levels of caspase 3 and caspase 8, and induced the apoptosis of tumor cells. HepG2 cells were infected with rClone30-hDR5 or rClone30 at MOI of 1. The expression of hDR5 on tumor surface increased significantly by rClone30-hDR5 compared to that by rClone30, which contributed to the sensitivity to TRAIL. In conclusion, rClone30-hDR5 in combination with TRAIL has potential application value in cancer treatment.
Apoptosis ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Caspase 3 ; metabolism ; Caspase 8 ; metabolism ; Drug Synergism ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand ; pharmacology ; TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand ; pharmacology ; Transfection

Previous studies proposed that the synergistic effect of fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) and insulin may be due to the improvement of insulin sensitivity by FGF-21. However, there is no experimental evidence to support this. This study was designed to elucidate the mechanism of synergistic effect of FGF-21 and insulin in the regulation of glucose metabolism. The synergistic effect of FGF-21 and insulin on regulating glucose metabolism was demonstrated by investigating the glucose absorption rate by insulin resistance HepG2 cell model and the blood glucose chances in type 2 diabetic db/db mice after treatments with different concentrations of FGF-21 or/and insulin; The synergistic metabolism was revealed through detecting GLUT1 and GLUT4 transcription levels in the liver by real-time PCR method. The experimental results showed that FGF-21 and insulin have a synergistic effect on the regulation of glucose metabolism. The results of real-time PCR showed that the effective dose of FGF-21 could up-regulate the transcription level of GLUT1 in a dose-dependent manner, but had no effect on the transcription level of GLUT4. Insulin (4 u) alone could up-regulate the transcription level of GLUT4, yet had no effect on that of GLUT1. Ineffective dose 0.1 mg kg(-1) FGF-21 alone could not change the transcription level of GLUT1 or GLUT4. However, when the ineffective dose 0.1 mg x kg(-1) FGF-21 was used in combination with insulin (4 u) significantly increased the transcription levels of both GLUT1 and GLUT4, the transcription level of GLUT1 was similar to that treated with 5 time concentration of FGF-21 alone; the transcription level of GLUT4 is higher than that treated with insulin (4 u) alone. In summary, in the presence of FGF-21, insulin increases the sensitivity of FGF-21 through enhancing GLUT1 transcription. Vice versa, FGF-21 increases the sensitivity of insulin by stimulating GLUT4 transcription in the presence of insulin. FGF-21 and insulin exert a synergistic effect on glucose metabolism through mutual sensitization.
Animals ; Blood Glucose ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; metabolism ; Drug Synergism ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; pharmacology ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Glucose Transporter Type 1 ; metabolism ; Glucose Transporter Type 4 ; metabolism ; Hep G2 Cells ; Humans ; Insulin ; pharmacology ; Insulin Resistance ; Liver ; metabolism ; Mice

OBJECTIVETo investigate the gene mutation and the molecular pathogenesis of an inherited coagulation factor VII (F VII) deficiency pedigree with consanguineous marriage.

METHODSThe diagnosis was validated by coagulant parameter assay on the prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen and coagulation factor activity. F VII gene mutations were analyzed in the proband and other family members by direct DNA sequencing of the PCR products of all exons, exon-intron boundaries and 5'and 3' untranslated sequences. The mutations were confirmed by reverse sequencing.

RESULTSThe values of PT and F VII activity in the proband were significantly abnormal, they were 30.9 s and 3% respectively. The PT of her daughter, father and mother was slightly extended to 21.2 s, 16.3 s and 16.1 s respectively, and the F VII activity was reduced to 22%, 25% and 35% respectively. The coagulant parameters of her younger brother were within normal range. Homozygous T-->G transition at position 11482 in exon 8 was identified in the proband resulting in His348Gln, and heterozygosity for His348Gln was confirmed in her daughter and her parents, and the normal wild-type was observed in her younger brother.

CONCLUSIONHomozygous missense mutation of His348Gln was found in a pedigree of hereditary F VII deficiency. The mutation was inherited from her heterozygote parents.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Factor VII ; genetics ; Factor VII Deficiency ; genetics ; Female ; Homozygote ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation, Missense ; Pedigree

OBJECTIVETo perform gene analysis and family survey of a patient with combined inherited FVII and FX deficiency, and to identify the gene mutation of this patient.

METHODSThe phenotype diagnosis was validated by coagulant parameter assay on prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen, FVII and FX activity (FVII:C, FX:C) and FVII and FX antigen (FVII:Ag, FX:Ag). FVII and FX gene mutations were analyzed in the proband and other family members by DNA direct sequencing of all exons, exon-intron boundaries and 5', 3' untranslated sequences. One hundred and six health examination participants were selected as control.

RESULTSThe values of PT and APTT of the proband showed significantly prolonged, which were 84.5s and 63.4s, respectively. The levels of FVII:C, FVII:Ag, FX:C and FX:Ag were 6%, 7%, 4% and 30%, respectively. The PT of his father, mother and sister was prolonged slightly while both APTT and FVII:Ag were in the normal range. Two homozygous mutations, g.11267C→T in exon 8 of FVII gene resulting in the substitution of Arg277Cys and g.28139G→T in exon 8 of FX gene leading to the substitution of Val384Phe, were identified in the proband. The proband's parents and sister were heterozygous for Arg277Cys and Val384Phe mutations.

CONCLUSIONHomozygous mutation Arg277Cys in FVII gene and Val384Phe in FX gene were the molecular mechanism causing combined inherited FVII and FX deficiency. The Val384Phe substitution was a novel mutation, which may affect the synthesis or secretion of FX protein.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Base Sequence ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Factor VII ; genetics ; Factor VII Deficiency ; complications ; genetics ; Factor X Deficiency ; complications ; genetics ; Female ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Pedigree ; Young Adult