OBJECTIVETo study the expression of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) in cochlea and endolymphatic sac of guinea pig of two types of animal model of endolymphatic hydrops.

METHODSThirty guinea pigs were divided into three groups at random: surgery group; aldosterone group and control group. Each group included 10 animals. Surgical endolymphatic sac obstruction or aldosterone intraperitoneal injection was used to build the animal models of endolymphatic hydrops. Immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to examine the expression of AQP1 in cochlea and endolymphatic sac of animal models. Image processing soft (Image Tool) was used to do the semiquantitative analysis.

RESULTSMiddle to high grade endolymphatic hydrops were found in surgery group. It was most significant in the apical coil, and lessened from the apical coil to the basal coil. Low to middle expression grade in endolymphatic hydrops was found in aldosterone group. Most of them were found in the basal coil. The positions of AQP1 expression in two animal models of endolymphatic hydrops were identical with the control group. In cochlea, no difference of AQP1 expression was found in the surgery and control group (t = 0.718 , P > 0.05) , but the expression of AQP1 was down regulated in the cochlea of aldosterone group (t = 6.609, P < 0.01) while the expressions of AQP1 in endolymphatic sac of aldosterone and control group were no difference between them (t = 0.998, P > 0.05). The quantization of AQP1 protein in the lateral wall of cochlea of aldosterone group was lower than that of control group (t = 13.626 , P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSThe expression of AQP1 is no change in surgery and control group, but decreased in aldosterone group. The expression of AQP1 may be regulated by the ionic concentration in inner ear of guinea pig.

Animals ; Aquaporin 1 ; metabolism ; Cochlea ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Endolymphatic Hydrops ; metabolism ; Endolymphatic Sac ; metabolism ; Guinea Pigs

OBJECTIVETo explore the immunomechanism of chronic lung disease (CLD) in premature infants by investigating the changes of 17 cytokines.

METHODSTwenty-six preterm neonates who had been in the NICU for over 28 days were divided into CLD group (n=14) and control group consisting of 12 preterm neonates. Seventeen cytokines, namely interleukin 1b (IL-1b), IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, interferon-gamma, tumour necrosis factor alpha, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, and macrophage inflammatory protein-1b were detected in a single sample of peripheral blood by multi-plex technology (Bio-plex).

RESULTSThere were no significant differences in the level of the 17 cytokines between the two groups (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe cytokines examined may not be involved in the later period pathogenesis of CLD.

Chronic Disease ; Cytokines ; blood ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Interferon-gamma ; blood ; Interleukins ; blood ; Lung Diseases ; blood ; immunology ; Male ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of automated peripheral arteriovenous exchange transfusion for treatment of severe hyperbilirubinemia in neonates.

METHODSFifty-three neonates with severe hyperbilirubinemia underwent automated peripheral arteriovenous exchange transfusion, and the changes in the blood gas, electrolytes and some biochemical indices after the exchange transfusion were evaluated.

RESULTSTreatment with the exchange transfusion resulted in a significant reduction in the total serum bilirubin with an exchange rate of 53.12% (P<0.01). The levels of serum kalium, calcium, magnesium, white blood cell count, platelets, and pH showed reductions while blood glucose exhibited a significant elevation changes after the transfusion (P<0.01), which all recovered the normal levels within 48 h. No obvious alterations occurred in the respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, or saturation of blood oxygen during the transfusion.

CONCLUSIONAutomated peripheral arteriovenous exchange transfusion can rapidly reduce serum bilirubin levels in neonates with severe hyperbilirubinemia without obviously affecting the blood gas balance or blood electrolyte or glucose levels.

Exchange Transfusion, Whole Blood ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal ; therapy ; Infant, Newborn ; Male

OBJECTIVETo explore the expression of CASZ1 and its relationship with the pulmonary microvascular development in lung tissue of newborn rats exposed to hyperoxia which induced bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

METHODForty-eight newborn Sprague Dawley(SD) rats (male and female unlimited) were randomly divided into two groups: experimental group and control group according to random digits table with 24 in each.The rats in experimental group were exposed to high oxygen volume fraction of 800 ml/L and the rats in control group were exposed to normal air. Eight rats were randomly selected from each group on day 3 and 7 after oxygen exposure.The sections of lung were stained with HE method in order to assess lung histological changes, the alveolar development was evaluated by the number of radial alveolar count (RAC) and septal wall thickness. CD31 was detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) method and the capillary density was calculated. The location, distribution and expression of CASZ1 in the lung tissue were detected by the immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and quantitative PCR (qPCR).

RESULT(1) Stained by HE, lungs of experimental group showed destroyed alveoli, alveoli fusion and increased septal wall thickness, RAC were significantly lower than those in control group(14 d: septal wall thickness (12.69 ± 0.63) μm vs. (6.53 ± 0.16) μm, RAC 5.9 ± 0.4 vs. 8.4 ± 1.0, t = 19.046, 4.760, P both = 0.000). (2) CD31 protein was expressed predominantly in cytoplasm of pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells. The experimental group CD31 average optical density (AIOD) were decreased compared with control group((16.6 ± 1.6) × 10(3) vs.(40.1 ± 2.4) × 10(3), (18.1 ± 1.4) × 10(3) vs.(83.2 ± 5.2) × 10(3), (49.2 ± 5.4) × 10(3) vs.(136.2 ± 28.1) × 10(3), t=16.185, 16.066 and 6.078, P<0.01 for all comparisons). Capillary density in experimental group was also significantly decreased compared with control group ((3.84 ± 0.15)% vs.(6.01 ± 0.22)%, (4.17 ± 0.38)% vs.(6.15 ± 0.24)%, (5.43 ± 0.44)% vs. (9.13 ± 0.25)%, t = 16.124, 8.773 and 14.076, P all < 0.01). (3)RT-qPCR and Western blotting showed that the CASZ1 mRNA significantly increased in experimental group compared with control group(0.56 ± 0.17 vs. 1.00 ± 0.26, 0.32 ± 0.29 vs. 0.58 ± 0.14, 0.14 ± 0.22 vs. 0.56 ± 0.15, t=3.890, 3.303 and 2.388, P < 0.05 for all comparisons), and the protein expression of CASZ1 also significantly increased in experimental group compared with control group (0.65 ± 0.02 vs. 0.78 ± 0.23, 0.46 ± 0.03 vs. 0.75 ± 0.05, 0.34 ± 0.22 vs. 0.75 ± 0.04, t=6.200 and 10.485 and 14.998, P < 0.05 for all comparisons). (4)The protein level of CASZ1 in experimental group was positively correlated with capillary density (r=0.519, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONCASZ1 is involved in the whole process of newborn rats BPD and may be linked to pulmonary microvascular dysplasia.

Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia ; pathology ; Female ; Hyperoxia ; pathology ; Lung ; blood supply ; pathology ; Male ; Oxygen ; adverse effects ; Pulmonary Alveoli ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transcription Factors ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEUsing methods of clinical scale assessment and cerebral functional imaging to compare the relative specificity of needling acupoints Baihui (DU20), Shuigou (DU26) and Shenmen (HT7) in intervening vascular dementia (VD) in different areas in the brain.

METHODSFifty patients with VD were randomized into 5 groups. Needling on conventionally used acupoints of hand and foot three Yang-meridians aiming at hemiplegia was applied to the patients in Group A, and needling on DU20 to Group B, on DU26 to Group C, on HT7 to Group D and on all the three to Group E was applied additionally. Assessments of Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Family Attitude Questionnaire (FAQ) were made. And the positron emission computerized tomography (PET) and single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) examinations were conducted in 5 selected patients from each group before and after treatment.

RESULTSNeedling on conventional acupoints plus DU20 could effect the inner temporal system, thalamencephalon system and prefrontal cortical system to improve memory and executive capacity of VD patients; conventional acupoints plus DU26 could effect more to the prefrontal cortical system to obviously elevate the executive capacity; that plus HT7 would reveal an effect similar to but rather weaker than plus DU20, and effect more to memory; and that plus all the three simultaneously could effect rather roundly multiple aspects of the nervous system related to intellectual activities, to elevate the recognition and enhance the executive capacity.

CONCLUSIONNeedling on various acupoints like DU20, DU26 and HT7 have effects on different brain areas.

Activities of Daily Living ; Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; methods ; Aged ; Brain ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Dementia, Vascular ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Female ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Radionuclide Imaging

{L-End}Objective To analyze the effect of occupational stress on the psychological health of obstetricians and gynecologists who participated in the standardized residency training (hereinafter referred to as "obstetrics and gynecology residents") in Guangdong Province. {L-End}Methods A total of 509 obstetrics and gynecology residents from national-level western medicine residency training bases in Guangdong Province were selected as the research subjects using a convenience sampling method. The psychological health status and occupational stress were investigated using the Symptom Checklist-90 and the Clinician Occupational Stressor Scale. The effects of occupational stress on psychological health of obstetrics and gynecology residents in Guangdong Province were analyzed by binary logistic regression. {L-End}Results The positive detection rate of psychological health in obstetrics and gynecology residents in Guangdong Province was 47.5% (242/509), and the detection rate of high-level occupational stress was 63.9% (325/509). The results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that career development, interpersonal relationships, and professional interests were influencing factors of their psychological health after controlling the confounding factors (all P<0.05). Residents with high level of occupational stress in career development, interpersonal relationships, and professional interests had poor psychological health. {L-End}Conclusion The psychological health of obstetrics and gynecology residents in Guangdong Province is generally poor, with career development, interpersonal relationships, and professional interests being risk factors for their psychological health.

Objective To investigate the effect of asymmetric lumbar discectomy on facet joint force and stability of lumbar spine. Methods Seven human cadaver specimens (L2-3 segment) were selected to make intact, 1/4 discectomy and 1/2 discectomy status and applied with pure moment of 7.5 N•m. The range of motion (ROM) and facet joint force of L2-3 segment during flexion/extension, lateral bending and axial rotation were recorded, respectively. Results During extension, a significant increase in facet joint force was found under 1/4 discectomy status at the remained side. During lateral bending, the facet joint force at both sides under 1/2 discectomy status increased significantly than that under intact status. During axial rotation, facet joint force increased significantly only at the side without discectomy under 1/2 discectomy status. Except flexion, ROM under 1/4 discectomy and 1/2 discectomy status were larger than that under intact status in all the other motion directions (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in ROM between both sides during lateral bending and axial rotation direction. Conclusions The asymmetric lumbar discectomy can increase the ROM in all motion directions except flexion, and can enlarge the facet joint force asymmetrically, which indicate that instability of lumbar spine and facet joint force increasing resulted from asymmetric degeneration of the disc might lead to backache.

【Objective】 To investigate the feasibility of using the indirect labeling method to label small molecular peptide cNGQGEQc with ¹⁸⁸Re and to observe the inhibitory effect of ¹⁸⁸Re-cNGQGEQc on lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 in vitro. 【Methods】 ¹⁸⁸Re-cNGQGEQc and ¹⁸⁸Re-cNAQAEQc(negative polypeptide radiolabeled with 188Re) were prepared by indirect labeling method with ethylene dicysteine(EC) as the bifunctional chelating agent. The labeling rate, specific activity, radiochemical purity(RCP) and octanol-water partition coefficient were determined, and the stability in normal human serum was evaluated. CCK-8 assay was used to detect the inhibitory effects of ¹⁸⁸Re-cNGQGEQc, ¹⁸⁸RecNAQAEQc and free ¹⁸⁸ReO4^- with different radioactive doses on A549 lung cancer cell proliferation. Then the relative inhibitory rates and 50% inhibiting concentration(IC50) of the three peptides were calculated and compared. 【Results】 The labeling rate, specific activity and log P value of ¹⁸⁸Re-cNGQGEQc were(90.24±1.58) %, (4.07±0.14) TBq·mmol/L^-1 and(-2.90±0.03), respectively. The RCP of ¹⁸⁸Re-cNGQGEQc purified by using a Sep-Pak C18 column and after being placed in normal serum for 24 h at 37 ℃ were(98.42±0.32) % and(89.08±0.94) %, respectively. CCK-8 assay results revealed that ¹⁸⁸Re-cNGQGEQc significantly inhibited the proliferation of A549 lung cancer cells in a dose-dependent and positively-correlated manner. IC50 value of ¹⁸⁸Re-cNGQGEQc was 44.88×10⁷ Bq/L, significantly lower than 93.45× 10⁷ Bq/L for ¹⁸⁸Re-cNAQAEQc and 99.60×10⁷ Bq/L for ¹⁸⁸ReO4^- (P<0.01) . 【Conclusion】 It is feasible to use EC as the bifunctional chelating agent to label small molecular peptide with ¹⁸⁸Re and this labeling method has high labeling rate and good in vitro stability. The in vitro experiment confirms that ¹⁸⁸Re-cNGQGEQc can effectively inhibit the proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549. These results provide the experimental basis for further in vivo application of small molecular peptides for the targeted therapy of lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of heat shock protein 90α (HSP90α) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathway in allergic airway inflammation induced by house dust mite (HDM) in bronchial epithelial cells. METHODS: A HDM- induced asthmatic cell model was established in human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells by exposure to a concentration gradient (200, 400 and 800 U/mL) of HDM for 24 h. To test the effect of siHSP90α and HSP90 inhibitor 17-AAG on HDM-induced asthmatic inflammation, HBE cells were transfected with siHSP90α (50 nmol, 12 h) or pretreated with 17-AAG (900 nmol, 6 h) prior to HDM exposure (800 U/mL) for 24 h, and the changes in the expression of HSP90α and ER stress markers were assessed. We also tested the effect of nasal drip of 17-AAG, HDM, or their combination on airway inflammation and ER stress in C57BL/6 mice. RESULTS: In HBE cells, HDM exposure significantly up-regulated the expression of HSP90α protein (P=0.011) and ER stress markers XBP-1 (P=0.044), ATF-6α (P=0.030) and GRP-78 (P=0.027). Knocking down HSP90α and treatment with 17-AAG both significantly inhibited HDM-induced upregulation of XBP-1 (P=0.008). In C57BL/6 mice, treatment with 17-AAG obviously improved HDM-induced airway inflammation and significantly reduced the number of inflammatory cells in the airway (P=0.014) and lowered the levels of IL-4 (P=0.030) and IL-5 (P=0.035) in alveolar lavage fluid. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the expressions of XBP-1 and GRP-78 in airway epithelial cells decreased significantly after the treatment of 17-AAG. CONCLUSIONS HSP90α promotes HDM-induced airway allergic inflammation possibly by upregulating ER stress pathway in bronchial epithelial cells.
Animals ; Asthma/metabolism* ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; Epithelial Cells ; Inflammation/metabolism* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Pyroglyphidae

OBJECTIVETo investigate the infiltration and prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating mast cells (TIMs) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

METHODSImmunohistochemistry for tryptase was performed on 154 NPC specimens. The median value of TIM density was used as a cutoff point to separate the patient cohort into two groups with either low or high TIM infiltration. The associations between TIM and clinicopathological factors were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U text. Survival curves were plotted according to the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the Log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazard models, respectively. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 13.0.

RESULTSTIM was mainly in the stroma of NPC and detected in all specimens. The median value of TIM density (25.60/high power field) was used as a cutoff point to separate the patient cohort into two groups with either low or high TIM infiltration. The density of TIM was positively correlated with N stage (Z=-2.193, P<0.05) and clinical stage (Z=-2.551, P<0.05). The 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients were 64.4% and 55.7% in the high TIM density group; 78.3% and 77.0% in the low TIM density group. For survival evaluation, high density of TIM was associated with worse OS and PFS (P<0.05). Multivariate Cox regression model analysis showed TIM infiltration was an independent risk factor for both OS and PFS.

CONCLUSIONSThe density of TIM in NPC increased with tumor stage. High TIM infiltration was associated with poor overall survival and progression-free survival.

Carcinoma ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mast Cells ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models